FirstRuleGroupBid.pdf

EXHIBIT A-1 – BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION - 01620 PAGE 1

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EXHIBIT A-1 – BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION

Competitive Solicitation: No. 01620 – Business Consulting Services

Bidder: FirstRule Group, Inc.

Type/print full legal name of Bidder

Bidder’s Address: 1001 Cooper Point Rd Suite 140-723, Olympia, WA 98502 Type/print Bidder’s Address

Bidder Organization Type:

Check appropriate box

Corporation: Domestic Foreign

Limited Liability Company (LLC): Domestic Foreign

Partnership: Domestic Foreign

Sole Proprietorship:

State of Formation: Washington Type/print the state where the corporation, LLC, or partnership is formed – e.g., ‘Washington’ if domestic and the name of the state if ‘Foreign’ (i.e., not Washington)

Bidder, through the duly authorized undersigned, makes this certification as a required element of submitting a responsive bid. Bidder certifies, to the best of its knowledge and belief, that the following are true, complete, correct, and made in good faith:

1. UNDERSTANDING. Bidder certifies that Bidder has read, thoroughly examined, and fully understands all of the provisions in the Competitive Solicitation (including all exhibits) and the terms and conditions of the Master Contract and any amendments or clarifications to the Competitive Solicitation, and agrees to abide by the same.

2. ACCURACY. Bidder certifies that Bidder has carefully prepared and reviewed its bid and fully supports the accuracy of the same. Bidder further understands and acknowledges that Enterprise Services shall not be responsible for any errors or omission on the part of Bidder in preparing its bid. Bidder certifies that the facts declared here are true and accurate. Bidder further understands and acknowledges that the continuing compliance with these statements and all requirements of the Competitive Solicitation are conditions precedent to the award or continuation of the resulting Master Contract.

3. NO COLLUSION OR ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES. Bidder certifies that Bidder has not, either directly or indirectly, entered into any agreement, participated in any collusion, or otherwise taken any action in restraint of free competitive bidding in connection with this Competitive Solicitation.

Bidder certifies that Bidder’s bid prices have been arrived at independently, without engaging in collusion, bid rigging, or any other illegal activity, and without for the purpose of restricting competition any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other bidder or competitor

EXHIBIT A-1 – BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION - 01620 PAGE 2

relating to (a) those prices, (b) the intention to submit a bid, or (c) the methods or factors used to calculate the prices offered. Bidder certifies that Bidder has not been and will not knowingly disclose its bid prices, directly or indirectly, to any other bidder or competitor before award of a Master Contract, unless otherwise required by law. Bidder certifies that Bidder has made no attempt and shall not make any attempt to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a bid for the purpose of restricting competition. Bidder, however, freely may join with other persons or organizations for the purpose of presenting a bid.

4. FIRM OFFER. Bidder certifies that its bid, attached hereto, is a firm offer which cannot be withdrawn for a period of ninety (90) days from and after the bid due date specified in the Competitive Solicitation. Enterprise Services may accept such bid, with or without further negotiation, at any time within such period. In the event of a protest, Bidder’s bid shall remain valid for such period or until the protest and any related court action is resolved, whichever is later.

5. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. Bidder certifies that, in preparing this bid, Bidder has not been assisted by any current or former employee of the State of Washington whose duties relate (or did relate) to this Competitive Solicitation, or prospective Master Contract, and who was assisting in other than his or her official, public capacity. Neither does such a person nor any member of his or her immediate family have any financial interest in the outcome of this bid.

6. NO REIMBURSEMENT. Bidder certifies that Bidder understands that the State of Washington will not reimburse Bidder for any costs incurred in the preparation of this bid. All bids become the property of the State of Washington, and Bidder claims no proprietary right to the ideas, writings, items, or samples unless so stated in the bid.

7. PERFORMANCE. Bidder certifies that Bidder understands that its submittal of a bid and execution of this Bidder’s Certification certifies bidder’s willingness to comply with the Master Contract, if awarded such. By submitting this bid, Bidder hereby offers to furnish the goods and/or services solicited pursuant to this Competitive Solicitation in compliance with all terms, conditions, and performance requirements contained in this Competitive Solicitation and the resulting Master Contract or, if applicable, as detailed on a Contract Issues List, if permitted, in this Competitive Solicitation.

8. INSURANCE. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

BIDDER HAS REQUIRED INSURANCE. Bidder has attached a current, valid Certificate of

Insurance with each and all of the required insurance coverages as specified in the Master Contract (note: Bidder must attach the Insurance Certificate).

OR

BIDDER WILL OBTAIN REQUIRED INSURANCE. Bidder does not have a current, valid

Certificate of Insurance with each and all of the required insurance coverages as specified in the Master Contract but, if designated as the Apparent Successful Bidder, Bidder will provide such a Certificate of Insurance, without exception of any kind, to Enterprise Services within twenty-four (24) hours of such designation or notification by Enterprise Services or be deemed a nonresponsive bid.

OR

BIDDER DOES NOT HAVE REQUIRED INSURANCE. As detailed on the attached explanation

(Bidder to provide), Bidder does not have a current, valid Certificate of Insurance with each and all of the required insurance coverages as specified in the Master

EXHIBIT A-1 – BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION - 01620 PAGE 3

x x

Contract and, if designated as the Apparent Successful Bidder would not be able to provide such a Certificate of Insurance to Enterprise Services within twenty-four (24) hours of such designation.

9. DEBARMENT. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

NO DEBARMENT. Bidder and/or its principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from contracting with any federal, state, or local governmental entity.

OR

DEBARRED. As detailed on the attached explanation (Bidder to provide), Bidder and/or its principals presently are debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from contracting with a federal, state, or local governmental entity.

10. CRIMINAL OFFENSE. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

NO CRIMINAL OFFENSE. Bidder has not, within the three (3) year period preceding the date of this Competitive Solicitation, been convicted or had a civil judgment rendered against Bidder for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a governmental contract;

violation of any federal or state antitrust statute; or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property. Bidder further certifies that it is not presently indicted or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in this paragraph.

OR

CRIMINAL OFFENSE. As detailed on the attached explanation (Bidder to provide), within the three (3) year period preceding the date of this Competitive Solicitation, Bidder has been convicted or had a civil judgment rendered against Bidder for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a governmental contract; violation of any federal or state antitrust statute; or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property.

11. WAGE THEFT PREVENTION. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

NO WAGE VIOLATIONS. Bidder has NOT been determined by a final and binding citation and notice of assessment issued by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries or through a civil judgment entered by a court of limited or general jurisdiction to have willfully violated, as defined in RCW 49.48.082, any provision of RCW chapters 49.46, 49.48, or 49.52 within three (3) years prior to the date of the above-referenced Competitive Solicitation date.

OR

VIOLATIONS OF WAGE LAWS. Bidder has been determined by a final and binding citation and notice of assessment issued by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries or through a civil judgment entered by a court of limited or general jurisdiction to have willfully violated, as defined in RCW 49.48.082, a provision of RCW chapters 49.46, 49.48, or 49.52 within three (3) years prior to the date of the above-referenced Competitive Solicitation date.

http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.48.082 http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.46 http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.48 http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.52 http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.48.082 http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.46 http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.48 http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.52

EXHIBIT A-1 – BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION - 01620 PAGE 4

x x x

12. PAY EQUALITY. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

PAY EQUALITY FOR SIMILARLY EMPLOYED WORKERS. Bidder’s similarly employed individuals are compensated as equals. For purposes of this provision, employees are similarly employed if the individuals work for the same employer, the performance of the job requires comparable skill, effort, and responsibility, and the jobs are performed under similar working conditions. Job titles alone are not determinative of whether employees are similarly employed. Bidder may allow differentials in compensation for its workers based in good faith on any of the following: a seniority system; a merit system; a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production;

a bona fide job-related factor or factors; or a bona fide regional difference in compensation levels. A bona fide job-related factor or factors may include, but not be limited to, education, training, or experience that is: consistent with business necessity; not based on or derived from a gender-based differential; and accounts for the entire differential. A bona fide regional difference in compensation level must be consistent with business necessity; not based on or derived from a gender-based differential; and account for the entire differential.

OR

NO PAY EQUALITY FOR SIMILARLY EMPLOYED WORKERS. Bidder’s similarly employed individuals are NOT compensated as equals.

13. WORKERS’ RIGHTS (EXECUTIVE ORDER 18-03). Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

NO MANDATORY INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION CLAUSES AND CLASS OR COLLECTIVE ACTION WAIVERS

FOR EMPLOYEES. Bidder does NOT require its employees, as a condition of employment, to sign or agree to mandatory individual arbitration clauses or class or collective action waivers.

OR

MANDATORY INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION CLAUSES AND CLASS OR COLLECTIVE ACTION WAIVERS FOR

EMPLOYEES. Bidder requires its employees, as a condition of employment, to sign or agree to mandatory individual arbitration clauses or class or collective action waivers.

14. TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT OR CAUSE. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

NO TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT OR CAUSE. Bidder has not, within the three (3) year period preceding the date of this Competitive Solicitation, had one (1) or more federal, state, or local governmental contracts terminated for cause or default.

OR

TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT OR CAUSE. As detailed on the attached explanation (Bidder to provide), within the three (3) year period preceding the date of this Competitive Solicitation, Bidder has had one (1) or more federal, state, or local governmental contracts terminated for cause or default.

15. TAXES. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

TAXES PAID. Except as validly contested, Bidder is not delinquent and has paid or has arranged for payment of all taxes due to the State of Washington and has filed all required returns and reports as applicable.

OR

EXHIBIT A-1 – BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION - 01620 PAGE 5

x x

DELINQUENT TAXES. As detailed on the attached explanation (Bidder to provide), Bidder has not paid or arranged for payment of all taxes due to the State of Washington and/or has not timely filed all required returns and reports as applicable.

16. LAWFUL REGISTRATION. Bidder, if conducting business other than as a sole proprietorship (e.g., Bidder is a corporation, limited liability company, partnership) certifies as follows (must check one):

CURRENT LAWFUL REGISTRATION. Bidder is in good standing in the State of Washington and the jurisdiction where Bidder is organized, including having timely filed all required annual reports.

OR

DELINQUENT REGISTRATION. As detailed on the attached explanation (Bidder to provide), Bidder currently is not in good standing in the State of Washington and/or the jurisdiction where Bidder is organized.

17. SUBCONTRACTORS. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

NO SUBCONTRACTORS. If awarded a Master Contract, Bidder will not utilize subcontractors to provide the goods and/or services subject to this Competitive Solicitation.

OR

SUBCONTRACTORS. As detailed on the attached explanation (Bidder to provide), If awarded a Master Contract, Bidder will utilize subcontractors to provide the goods and/or services subject to this Competitive Solicitation. In such event, Bidder certifies that, as to the State, Bidder shall retain responsibility for its subcontractors, including, without limitation, liability for any subcontractor’s acts or omissions.

Note: Bidder must provide the precise legal name (including state of organization), business address, and federal tax identification number (TIN) for each subcontractor.

Note: If the TIN is a SSN, provide only the last four (4) digits.

18. WASHINGTON SMALL BUSINESS. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

WASHINGTON SMALL BUSINESS. Bidder is a Washington Small Business as defined in

RCW 39.26.010. To qualify as a Washington Small Business, bidder must meet the following three (3) requirements:

1. Bidder’s principal office/place of business must be located in and identified as being in the State of Washington. A principal office or principal place of business is a firm’s headquarters where business decisions are made and the location for the firm’s books and records as well as the firm’s senior management personnel.

2. Bidder must be owned and operated independently from all other businesses and have either: (a) fifty (50) or fewer employees; or (b) gross revenue of less than seven million dollars ($7,000,000) annually as reported on its federal income tax return or its return filed with the Washington State Department of Revenue over the previous three consecutive years).

3. Bidder must have certified its small business status in WEBS.

OR

NOT WASHINGTON SMALL BUSINESS. Bidder is not a Washington Small Business as defined http://www.des.wa.gov/services/ContractingPurchasing/Business/Pages/WEBSRegistration.aspx

EXHIBIT A-1 – BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION - 01620 PAGE 6

in RCW 39.26.010.

19. VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS. Bidder certifies as follows (must check one):

VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS. Bidder is a certified Veteran-Owned business under

RCW 43.60A.190 and is identified as such on WEBS (which is confirmed by the Washington Department of Veterans’ Affairs).

OR

NOT VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS. Bidder is not a certified Veteran-Owned business under

RCW 43.60A.190.

20. REFERENCES. Bidder certifies that the references provided to Enterprise Services have worked with Bidder and that such individuals and firms have full permission, without any additional requirement or release, to provide such references and information to Enterprise Services. Bidder hereby authorizes Enterprise Services (or its agent) to contact Bidder’s references and others who may have pertinent information regarding Bidder’s prior experience and ability to perform the Master Contract, if awarded. Bidder hereby authorizes such individuals and firms to provide such references and release to Enterprise Services information pertaining to the same.

Bidder further certifies that it shall provide immediate written notice to Enterprise Services if, at any time prior to a contract award, Bidder learns that any of its certifications set forth herein were erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances.

I hereby certify, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington, that the certifications herein are true and correct and that I am duly authorized to make these certifications on behalf of the Bidder listed herein.

BIDDER NAME: FirstRule Group, Inc.

Print Name of Bidder – Print full legal entity name of the firm submitting the Bid

By: ______________________________ Signature of Bidder’s authorized person

Title: President Title of person signing certificate

Date: January 23, 2021

Shelley McDermott Print Name of person making certifications for Bidder

Place: Olympia, WA Print city and state where signed

Return this Bidder’s Certification to Procurement Coordinator at:

DESContractsTeamCedar@des.wa.gov mailto:DESContractsTeamCedar@des.wa.gov

EXHIBIT A-2 – BIDDER’S PROFILE - 01620 PAGE 1

EXHIBIT A-2 – BIDDER’S PROFILE

Competitive Solicitation No.: 01620 – Business Consulting Services

Bidder: FirstRule Group, Inc.

BIDDER INFORMATION

Legal name and address of Bidder:

Note: This must match information from Business License

FirstRule Group, Inc.

Business Name 1001 Cooper Point Rd. SW, Suite 140-723 Address Olympia, WA City, State, Zip Code

Washington State Department of Revenue Registration Number:

Note: This is the Unified Business Identifier (UBI)

604 483 172

Federal Tax ID No. (TIN):

Note: If your TIN is a Social Security number, provide only the last four digits.

84-2444916

Is your firm certified as a minority or woman owned business with the Washington State Office of Minority & Women’s Business Enterprises

(OMWBE)?

Yes No If yes, provide MWBE certification no.

W2F0026478

Is your firm a self-certified Washington State small business?

Note: See definitions of ‘microbusiness,’ ‘minibusiness,’ and ‘small business,” set forth in

RCW 39.26.010.

Yes No

If yes, what is your business size?

Small Mini Micro

Is your firm certified as Veteran Owned with the Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs?

Yes No If yes, provide WSDVA certification no.

EXHIBIT A-2 – BIDDER’S PROFILE - 01620 PAGE 2

CONTRACT MANAGEMENT POINTS OF CONTACT

Authorized Representative Name: Shelley McDermott Email: shelleymcdermott@firstrulegroup.com Phone: 360-789-9747

Contract Administrator Name: Wendy Helling Email: wendyhelling@firstrulegroup.com Phone: 206-510-4653

Sales Reporting Representative Name: Stacy Steck Email: stacysteck@firstrulegroup.com Phone: 360-280-6735

Sales Reporting Alternate Name: Wendy Helling Email: wendyhelling@firstrulegroup.com Phone: 206-510-4653

Management Fee Representative Name: Wendy Helling Email: wendyhelling@firstrulegroup.com Phone: 206-510-4653

Management Fee Contact Alternate Name: Wendy Newman Email: wendynewman@firstrulegroup.com Phone: 907-632-8447

Address for Enterprise Services to send management fee invoices:

Company name: FirstRule Group, Inc.

Attn: Wendy Helling Address: 1001 Cooper Point Rd. SW, Suite 140-723 City/State/Zip: Olympia, WA 98502

ORDERING/SALES POINTS OF CONTACT (expand as necessary)

Name Phone Number E-mail Area of Responsibility

Wendy Helling 206-510-4653 wendyhelling@firstrulegroup.com Financial Officer

Shelley McDermott 360-789-9747 shelleymcdermott@firstrulegoup.com President

Stacy Steck 360-280-6735 stacysteck@firstrulegroup.com Vice President mailto:shelleymcdermott@firstrulegroup.com

EXHIBIT A-2 – BIDDER’S PROFILE - 01620 PAGE 3

REFERENCES

Provide a minimum of two (2) commercial or government references for which bidder has delivered goods and/or services similar in scope as described in the Competitive Solicitation. Additional references may be required if Bidder intends to submit a bid for more than one category. See instructions in Exhibit C-1 – Bid Evaluation Criteria, Item No. 2 Experience.

EXHIBIT A-2 – BIDDER’S PROFILE - 01620 PAGE 4

Reference 1 – Organizational Development – NOT APPLICABLE

Company Name:

Contact & Title:

Phone:

Email:

Reference 2 – Organizational Development – NOT APPLICABLE

Company Name:

Contact & Title:

Phone:

Email:

Reference 1 – Change Management, if applicable

Company Name: DES/LMS Contact & Title:

Phone:

Email:

Dawn Tatman, Chief Information Officer Washington State Department of Enterprise Services 1500 Jefferson Street SE Olympia, WA 98501 dawn.tatman@des.wa.gov

(360) 407-9449

Reference 2 – Change Management, if applicable

Company Name: VoteWa / OSOS Contact & Title:

Phone:

Email:

Mark Neary, Assistant Secretary of State Office of the Secretary of State 520 Union Avenue, Olympia mark.neary@sos.wa.gov 360 902-4186

Reference 1 – Management and Business Analysis, if applicable

Company Name: OCIO / CTS Contact & Title:

Phone:

Email:

Sue Langen, Deputy Chief Information Officer Washington State Consolidated Technology Services 1500 Jefferson Street SE Olympia, WA 98501 sue.langen@ocio.wa.gov

(360) 407-8686

Reference 2 – Management and Business Analysis, if applicable

Company Name: DES Contact & Title:

Phone:

Email:

Dawn Tatman, Chief Information Officer Washington State Department of Enterprise Services 1500 Jefferson Street SE Olympia, WA 98501 dawn.tatman@des.wa.gov

(360) 407-9449

Commented [WN1]: @Stacy Steck do you have a phone number for Sue Langen?

mailto:dawn.tatman@des.wa.gov mailto:mark.neary@sos.wa.gov mailto:sue.langen@ocio.wa.gov mailto:sue.langen@ocio.wa.gov mailto:dawn.tatman@des.wa.gov mailto:StacySteck@FirstRuleGroup.com

EXHIBIT A-2 – BIDDER’S PROFILE - 01620 PAGE 5

PURCHASE CARDS (I.E., CREDIT CARDS)

Please indicate which types of purchasing (credit) cards are accepted (note: any card fees must be included in the unit price of the bid):

Visa Master Card American Express Discover Other: None

Return this Bidder’s Profile to Procurement Coordinator at:

EXHIBIT A-3 – RESPONSIBLE BIDDER (COMPETENCIES) - 01620 PAGE 1

EXHIBIT A-3 - RESPONSIBLE BIDDER (COMPETENCIES)

Competitive Solicitation: No. 01620 – Business Consulting Services

Bidder, through the duly authorized undersigned, makes this certification as a required element of submitting a responsive bid. Bidder certifies, to the best of its knowledge and belief that the following are true, complete, correct, and made in good faith:

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is important to Washington State must be present in the fabric of the work we do in all areas. For professional services, where outside entities are coming into and directing the work of our civil servants, it is essential that they align with these values. As a requirement for responsibility, your firm must attest to the state’s values and culture. This will become part of any resultant contract and Bidder will be required to meet or exceed the commitments listed herein.

ATTESTATION

☒ I and the named leader(s) below have read and understand the Washington State Enterprise Leadership Competencies and the Enterprise DEI Competencies for all employees posted by the DEI Committee of the Office of Financial Management, and titled “Enterprise DEI Competencies – All Employees – A pathway for success [PDF]”. The named leader(s) below have the authority to, and shall ensure, that Bidder, Bidder’s employees, and Bidder’s subcontractors will follow the base expectation for values and culture established by Washington State. As Washington State continues to listen to our state family, this leader will enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within this organization. I will notify Enterprise Services within 30 days if these named leader(s) need to be changed.

Shelley McDermott, President _________________________ _January 23, 2021 Name, Title Signature Date

Name, Title Signature Date

Name, Title Signature Date https://des.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/documents/Training/LeadershipDevelopment/Leadership_Competencies.pdf?=420bb https://des.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/documents/Training/LeadershipDevelopment/Leadership_Competencies.pdf?=420bb https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/workforce-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-resources/dei-committee-documents https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/workforce-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-resources/dei-committee-documents

EXHIBIT A-3 – RESPONSIBLE BIDDER (COMPETENCIES) - 01620 PAGE 2

CERTIFICATION

Bidder further certifies that it shall provide immediate written notice to Enterprise Services if, at any time prior to a contract award, Bidder learns that any of its certifications set forth herein were erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances.

I hereby certify, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington, that the certifications herein are true and correct and that I am duly authorized to make these certifications on behalf of the Bidder listed herein.

BIDDER NAME: FIRSTRULE GROUP, INC.

Print Name of Bidder – Print full legal entity name of the firm submitting the Bid

By: ______________________________ Signature of Bidder’s authorized person

Title: President Title of person signing certificate

Date: January 23, 2021

Shelley McDermott Print Name of person making certifications for Bidder

Place: Olympia, WA Print city and state where signed

Return this Bidder’s Certification to Procurement Coordinator at:

Bidder Name: FirstRule Group, Inc.

EXHIBIT C - 2 – BIDDER RESPONSE SHEET / 01620-BUSINESS CONSULTING SERVICES

Categories that your company is bidding on (Mandatory, Not Scored)

Check the box(s) next to each category that your company is bidding on:

Organizational Development Change Management Management and Business Analysis

Bidder’s Organization (4 pages maximum) (150 points)

Ours is a woman-owned consulting concern in the Pacific Northwest. Our work is rooted in a work style distinguished by presence, deep observation, person-to-person connections and bold action.

We are a corporation (S-Corp). We currently have three partners and six employees. Plus, a healthy network of additional collaborators.

Our services include:

• Organizational change management and high touch stakeholdering

• Strategic planning

• Meeting facilitation and group collaboration

• Business Analysis

• Process Improvement

• Services to assist management / organizational planning

• Technology (infrastructure/application) implementations

• Project/portfolio management

• Feasibility studies / implementation planning

• RFP development & procurement strategy

• Data strategy and implementation

• Quality Assurance / project oversight

Our corporate officers are:

• Madame E, President: Our president has more than 25 years of program leadership experience.

Specializes in IT and operations, strategic planning, business process engineering and organizational design. Excels at optimizing high-risk, high-visibility projects and leading teams.

• Madame A, Vice-President: Our vice-president is an expert in planning and executing transformational technology projects and excels at communication and expectations management. Has been consulting in the Washington State government arena since 2014.

• Madame L, CFO/Chief of Staff: Our CFO/Chief of Staff has been an industry leader for more than 25 years and specializes in IT project execution, C-level advice and engagement, enterprise data management strategies and leading teams to achieve excellence. A University of Washington Foster School of Business mentor and guest speaker, our CFO/COS has an exemplary track record of delivering on high-value projects.

All 3 of our dynamic firm owners are local to the south sound area. We are residents who have been here forever and plan to stay!

While our firm is young, our team members have contributed to the success of many state projects:

Project How long?

Agency A 12 months

Agency A 48 months

Agency K 25 months

Agency E 6 months

Project How long?

Agency A 18 months

Agency H 24 months

Agency S 6 months

Agency A 3 months

Agency E 18 months

Agency H 6 months

Agency E 6+ months (ongoing)

Agency H 3 months

Agency E 18 months

Agency R 6 months

Agency L 4 months (ongoing)

Our firm was formed in 2019 – however all 3 owners have worked as OCM leaders and consultants for many years. We are all local to the South Sound area. We have 40+ years of consulting experience as well as local relationships and knowledge of myriad OCM methodologies. We feel confident we will endure for many years and commit to DES to provide consistent, quality resources for contracts resulting from this procurement.

Experience (4 pages for each category bid) (200 points)

CHANGE MANAGEMENT CATEGORY:

Project 1 / Reference 1 – Change Management

Our company worked on a project to deploy a Business Compliance System (BCS) across all governmental entities in the State of Washington. The BCS is utilized by over 200 agencies.

The project faced fierce opposition from state agencies who were disappointed with the existing system after years of frustration with the vendor’s inability to meet their agency’s business needs. A feasibility study was performed that included over 75 agency participants. The project hired our firm to provide a highly skilled OCM/change manager to re-engage the state agencies to build a community to design and implement the new BCS.

The project encountered several OCM challenges that needed to be addressed and managed to deliver a successful outcome. The first major challenge of the project came with the outbreak of COVID-19 during the design phase of the project, shifting agency resources away from the project to support the pandemic response. Other challenges included:

• Reconfiguring the schedule to add in a pilot phase,

• Managing the anxiety of the configuration team

(agency representatives), and

• Tracking the varying needs and requirements of over

200 state agencies.

Throughout the engagement, our firm provided organizational change management and training services. The project team utilized a unique approach to engage agencies in all aspects of the project, starting with initial discovery discussions through design, implementation, testing and go-live.

Approach #1: Standardize. Then customize. Our team recognized that while the core team was building an enterprise solution, each agency would come to the table with different business processes, skillsets, time and energy to support the project. To enable each agency to fully engage, we built standard tools (e.g., project plans, checklists, trainings) and then tailored the tools to each agency’s needs during working sessions with the agency project coordinators. While this approach took time and resources it resulted in agencies that were better able to align their unique needs with the design of the project.

Approach #2: Build community. We also opted to have the core team learn the system at the same time as the program champions and coordinators. This required coordination via planned communications and events of 8 project core team members and 80 agency champions on a weekly basis. This type of engagement (shared learning) reinforced community and supported different mediums and the sharing of ideas, challenges, and victories.

Approach #3: Adapt to different learning styles.

Kind words from our client: “This project went so smoothly; it’s almost easy to forget the first four years of hurdles and doubt that the entire enterprise had that this would ever get done. I know that it only looked easy because of how much thought, planning, and care you and the rest of the team (and all the agency participants) put into this. I can’t ever fully articulate my gratitude to you all but I hope you feel the pride that’s deserved for an accomplishment that defied many odds. It was an honor to work with you …” – BCS Stakeholder

• training was developed and deployed weekly,

• learnings were kept short, so they could be easily consumed the moment they were needed,

• videos were generated for those individuals who preferred visual mediums,

• weekly group sessions engaged agencies in discovery and problem solving,

• special sessions were scheduled to reinforce newly configured application features,

• communication was tailored to agency champions, project team members, Steering Committee members and Executives on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.

Approach #4: Provide content for communication. Our team crafted communication that was consumed by the intended target audience as well as providing sample communication for our agency partners to share with their agencies - we made it easy to communicate about the project by giving them tools and tactics – and words.

Approach #5: It’s never not my job. Change managers from our firm were also instrumental in supporting the agency project team to flex and address issues as they arose; losing project resources due to the outbreak and subsequent support for COVID-19 by many agency project staff, building back trust and confidence in the application vendor and overcoming the general unease that comes with leaving a system you know well. Our team helped with the tactics, tools and the hard conversations to help all the agencies feel heard and valued as a member of the community.

Project 2 / Reference 2 - Change Management

Our company worked on a project to implement a new technical solution. The project impacted every county in the state. It required end users to relinquish control and they were understandably anxious about that prospect. Change would occur on three different fronts:

• Process: Evolving from 39 disparate ways to manage a process to a single, standardized process.

• Tools: Switching from 39 separately implemented technology solutions to one shared solution.

• Decision-Making: Moving from 39 separate application governance approaches to one state-wide co-governance model.

Changes of this magnitude cannot be supported successfully through project management processes alone. To ensure changes are implemented with sustained, lasting benefits, a structured change management approach was integrated into the overall project planning. The approach focused on people, addressing any potential sources of resistance that may compromise adoption of the new, statewide system.

The Organizational Change Management Plan (OCM Plan) set the foundation for key organizational activities to support the successful implementation of the new system during its multi-year implementation. Change agents worked in collaboration with senior-level sponsors and leaders to plan and implement a change management plan.

The magnitude of the change required large-scale transformation of the following four interdependent change management dimensions:

1) Systems and Processes: included changes in business processes, policies, information flows, resource allocation, and systems design.

2) People: included changes in communications needs, problem-solving approach, working in teams, and developing new skills, which will require significant behavior changes from teams and individuals affected at every level of the organization.

3) Culture: changes involved efforts to understand and shift the values, norms, assumptions, leadership styles, and roles throughout the organization.

4) Organizational Structure: included potential changes in the hierarchy of authorities, job roles and responsibilities, and the organization of business units/internal groups.

Because failure to proactively manage any one of these components could have resulted in significant and harmful stakeholder resistance, the locus of change was initiated and visibly supported by senior leadership. Organizational change management is designed to make a proactive shift, with special attention on the impact of change on team dynamics, and on individuals who will need to develop new skills, behaviors, and competencies.

The change management model we developed (for this project specifically) was based on industry best practices, including Prosci’s ADKAR, John Kotter’s “Leading Change”, and GE Performance Solutions’ Change Acceleration Process (CAP). The highlights of each phase are listed in the model below:

As systematic OCM elements were continually introduced throughout the project, stakeholders were supported to progress through the change adoption process from awareness, through gaining context and building personal motivation, and increasing knowledge about the implications of upcoming changes to processes. The table below contains examples of observable behavior change:

Awareness Context & Motivation

Knowledge Skills & Actions Reinforcement

G O

AL

A stakeholder realizes that a change is coming to the current process.

A stakeholder individual says to us, "I will be part of this change."

The stakeholder understands the benefits of the change for the state and for the work they do.

The stakeholder demonstrates positive support for new system in conversation with others.

The stakeholder incorporates the new system in processes as normal practice for their work.

Awareness Context &

Motivation Knowledge Skills & Actions Reinforcement

O U

TC

O

M E

When asked by others, the stakeholder can articulate the program purpose, timeline and desired outcome.

The stakeholder commits to the change. (This commitment can come and go – so it must be reinforced as the project progresses).

The stakeholder seeks to interact with the demo environment as a solution education opportunity.

The stakeholder proactively signs up to test the new system.

The stakeholders proactively sign up to train on the new system.

The stakeholder positively talks the new systems and processes.

The stakeholder mentors and supports others in adapting the new systems and processes.

Additional OCM / Change Management Experience:

Strategic Planning Process Improvement − We developed a strategic plan to create a data strategy for Agency C. The process adhered to best practices: goal-setting, analysis, strategy formation, and strategy monitoring / implementation.

− Madame E helped a client with the visioning, mission/purpose, goals, and key strategic roadmap for a state-wide business system.

− Madame E developed a strategic plan for an agency’s IT division. The objective of the strategic plan was to eliminate obstacles, chart a direct course to a future state, and identify success measures. We helped the division director develop strategies, a work plan, performance targets and tracking dashboard.

− We created a project prioritization process and rubric for a healthcare organization – working with our client to develop a process for analytical ranking of business initiatives.

− We work with a state agency to improve a key process under legislative oversight. We work with customers to diagnose the problem, involve appropriate stakeholders, provide clear(er) instructions, and train people to follow the process. We also track effectiveness measures to drive accountability.

Change Enablement:

− We led the OCM efforts of a 4-year grant-funded project to experiment with different pilot projects. Pilots involve a certain amount of uncertainty – of process and outcomes. Analysts responsible for pilot projects were hired for their flexibility and comfort with ambiguity. We worked with the team to develop performance measures that made sense for the pilot environment – while still providing data to demonstrate improvements in key areas.

Resource # of complete

OCM

projects

>5 years’ experience

Process Improv.

Exp.

Six Sigma Black Belt

PROSCI

Certified

Other

OCM

certified

Strategic Planning Exp.

Madame A 5 Consultant M 3 Consultant C 3 Consultant S 2 Consultant P 5

MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS ANALYSIS CATEGORY:

Project 1 / Reference 1 – Management and Business Analysis

Our company currently works on a long-term project to assess deficiencies and prioritize customer complaints related to an agency’s core business function. (We’ll call them Agency O). Agency O is a centralized service provider offering services and expertise to all 200 state agencies. Under the umbrella of this engagement, our firm works both strategically and tactically to improve department outcomes and state-wide/enterprise-wide results. This is an expansive and wide-ranging assignment that allows us to work across a variety of domains in the category of management and business analysis. We will illustrate this by grouping experience and accomplishments by category. Two members of our firm are engaged with Agency O, performing similar work.

SERVICES TO ASSIST MANAGEMENT:

− We assessed the client agency’s business process and provided observations, recommendations, and best practices to agency leadership. We identified KPIs for a new service offering and documented the approach and goals within quarterly and annual legislative reports.

− We routinely interact with executives, employees, vendors, and clients to determine the strengths and weaknesses of a project, then provide decision-makers with suggestions to improve results.

− We evaluate the strategy and organizational design of small and large state projects. We issue reports to document findings and provide detail to illustrate key concepts and recommendations.

− In collaboration with agency leadership, we define goals, requirements, and conditions for state projects.

SERVICES THAT IMPACT AGENCY POLICY:

− We provide services that result in operational and managerial recommendations – as well as have significant policy implications.

− We create quarterly and annual management reports and studies, as requested by the Legislature (in statute).

− We provide recommendations impacting agency policy.

− We facilitate the creation of inter-agency agreements to introduce strategic partnerships and help determine the rules of engagement for both parties.

SERVICES FOR PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT:

− We evaluate the effectiveness of external quality review providers.

− We created a new service offering for Agency O and published a Project Management Guidebook to memorialize best practices, templates and strategies.

− We assist agencies in the selection of key program staff: project managers, OCM practitioners, architects and quality assurance providers.

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS:

− We routinely evaluate the stakeholder management of large projects. We assess the completeness of stakeholder inventory, evaluate key messages (are they on target?), and identify missing stakeholder groups.

− We consult on who should sponsor a project: what skills, abilities, and talents should he/she possess? We assess whether or not an individual is well positioned in an organization to serve as an Executive Sponsor. We train sponsors to engage and utilize best practices for the role.

− We advise agencies on the many perspectives that should be included in requirements definition.

Our knowledge of state business functions enables a birds-eye perspective on missing, critical business requirements.

MAINTAIN REQUIREMENTS:

− We gather and document requirements for state projects. This could look like cataloguing business requirements for an RFP – or it might look like providing input on a set of business requirements.

− We maintain issues lists for each project to which we are assigned.

− We provide status updates to Agency O leadership and project leadership.

− We create meeting agendas and routinely type meeting notes to capture the results of discussions.

− We manage change requests impacting baseline project information.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT:

− One of our first assignments was to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a financial model (Excel spreadsheet template) that is a required deliverable for select state projects. The client requested a thorough review of the process and tool – with an emphasis on financial analysis to detect waste in the workflow. Using business analysis skills, we documented the end-to-end process, identified areas for improvement, tool enhancements, training opportunities, and created an FAQ document to support state workers assigned to complete the financial model.

− Our team creates checklists, work aids, and new training materials to assist Agency O with the speed and efficacy of its business process. (Most of these available now publicly on state website).

ASSIST ENTITIES IN MEETING OBJECTIVES AND GOALS:

− This last category is our core function with Agency O. Each assignment represents an opportunity to assist an agency (as well as Agency O) in meeting its business objectives and goals. Generally, the lever we apply here is consulting in support of improving project management and organizational change management strategies. To do this, we must understand how work is conducted at a micro-level so that our recommendations are valid and useful.

Project 2 / Reference 2 - Management and Business Analysis

Our company worked on a project to establish Agency E’s strategic construct for a major statewide initiative. Though not the agency leading the enterprise transformation, Agency E is the business owner for one of the primary functions that the new system will support. In the early stages of the project, the purpose was to build a sustainable internal project and governance structure, advocate for the agency’s position as business owner and develop strategies for project execution.

Our Management Analyst (MA) interviewed executives, managers, project managers and business analysts to determine what the project was attempting to achieve, how the organization likes to work, the importance of this work to the agency and how best to achieve results. The outcome of this activity was to develop a set of guiding principles aligned with the agency’s mission and vision.

Upon acceptance of the guiding principles by the leadership team, the MA led sessions to build brief summaries or “lightning talks” for message conveyance to various audiences. This approach gave the project team and leaders messaging options for getting their point across when working with internal and external stakeholders.

The MA also supported the organization to develop a right-fit governance structure that included roles and responsibilities, meeting cadence, decision-making framework, and charter. These mechanisms helped the organization operate more efficiently and effectively as the project moved out of the planning phase and into execution.

Our MA established a methodology for communication, including regular status reporting, meetings with team members and developed various diagrams to convey technical information in an easily consumable format.

Using the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide), the MA followed a proven methodology to produce the following outcomes:

− Produce time saving tools that increase efficiency.

− Accelerate and promote shared understanding, engagement, credibility, decision making, and collaboration.

− Provide a baseline curated from disparate data elements and sources that will evolve as items change and additional items become known.

− Provide an easy-to-understand visual representation of complex ideas/inputs to help motivate change.

− Deliver fact-based materials to reduce confusion, mistrust, and misinterpretation of information and intent.

To summarize, our MA completed several process improvements to support the project and establish foundational documents and processes, including:

− Creation of context diagrams, data flow diagrams, process maps, data dictionaries, procedures, and other documents to capture data, methods, and decisions to memorialize points in time that are referenced and reused depending on the perspective and situation.

− Display data at various levels of detail depending on the audience, intent, and method of communication needed.

− Evaluate and rationalize data to provide a consolidated source of ‘truth’ not available due to disjointed technology, data sources, and business processes.

− Instituted methods to inspire thought, approach, solutions, and fact-based decisions.

− Collected and analyzed disparate information from systems, vendors, business, organizations, data statistics, interfaces/integrations, data elements, technical/businesses requirements, staff/personnel, and processes.

− Engaged agency and inter-agency technical, business, leadership, SMEs, project/program, consultants, and vendor personnel at all levels of the organization to collate and analyze data, collaborate on solutions, identify strengths/weaknesses, and make fact-based decisions to meet the strategic and operational goals and objectives.

Additional Management & Business Analysis Experience: (all in last 5 years)

Services that assist management / program development

Stakeholder Analysis / Requirements Maintenance

− Feasibility Study to evaluate the project and OCM requirements of a modern platform for a state natural resources agency.

− 360-degree review for an enterprise PMO to develop a maturity model and roadmap.

− Developed an application context diagram design that changed the course of a statewide project.

− Created IT and operational roadmaps for 3 agencies.

− Statewide listening tour to gather requirements for a web portal.

− Maintenance of requirements and test cases for a statewide solution. Use of TFS for requirements catalog.

− Developed quality and performance measures for an enterprise solution to document ROI. Included process optimization and collecting baseline data.

Assist Entities in Meeting Objectives and Goals − Assisted a number of healthcare organizations with a transition to a new payment model.

− Created business cases.

− Facilitated leadership sessions to articulate strategies and priorities.