ITS61DESIGNATEDITD RFR-v.2-20160502~1.docx

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office For Administration and finance

Massachusetts Office of Information Technology

One Ashburton Place, 8th Floor, Room 804, Boston, Massachusetts 02108

Request for Response (RFR)

Document Title: IT Accessibility Services

Agency Document Number: ITS61DesignatedITD

COMMBUYS Bid#:

BD-16-1060-ITD00-ITD00-00000007067

April 7, 2016 amended May 2, 2016

Please Note: This is a single document associated with a complete Bid (also referred to as Solicitation) that can be found on www.COMMBUYS.com. All Bidders are responsible for reviewing and adhering to all information, forms and requirements for the entire Bid, which are all incorporated into the Bid. Bidders may also contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at mailto:COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or the COMMBUYS Helpline at 1-888-MA-STATE. The Helpline is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal, state and Suffolk county holidays.

THIS RFR AND ALL RESPONSES HERETO INCLUDING THE WINNING BID(S) SHALL BECOME PUBLIC RECORD AS OF THE DATE THE CONTRACT REFERENCED HEREIN IS AWARDED, AND CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, LEGAL UNIT BY SENDING AN EMAIL TO MICHELLE.BURWELL@STATE.MA.US. ANY PORTIONS OF A RESPONSE THAT ARE LABELED AS CONFIDENTIAL WILL STILL BE CONSIDERED PUBLIC RECORD.

Document Sensitivity Level: High during development; Low once published. Template v 2.0.0

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Page i Document Sensitivity Level: High during development; Low once published.

RFR Introduction and General Description Procurement Scope and Description The Massachusetts Office of Information Technology (“MassIT”), on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the IT Accessibility Services Strategic Sourcing Services Team (SSST), are soliciting Bidders for the acquisition of information technology ("IT") professional services specific to ensuring the accessibility of information and communication technologies ("ICT") deployed by the Commonwealth. The resulting Contract will be the primary Statewide Contract used by Executive Agencies of the Commonwealth for the goods and services covered by the Contract. The Statewide Contract will also be available for use by other eligible entities listed below. Each Commonwealth Agency and eligible entity is responsible for executing its own purchase orders and paying its own invoices for goods and/or services acquired from this Statewide Contract. Contractors will be responsible for marketing their goods and/or services to Commonwealth Agencies and other eligible entities. To assist Purchasing Entities in Contractor selection, portions of the Responses from companies awarded contracts for ITS61 may be posted on COMMBUYS.

The purpose of this RFR is to create the successor contract to ITS52DesignatedITD, IT Accessibility Services. This will include the same information technology accessibility services ("ITAS") in six categories.

Bidders may submit bids bid on one, some, or all of the six (6) ITAS Categories:

Category A: Accessibility Audit Services Category B: Accessibility Consulting Services Category C: Document Remediation Services Category D: Accessibility Training Services Category E: Multimedia Transcription, Captioning, and Description Services Category F: Assistive Technology Scripting Services The resulting Statewide Contract will be awarded to Bidders that provide a combination of best value and lowest cost on the services in each Category.

Category A: Accessibility Audit Services Vendors selected under Category A of this contract will audit ICT, including but not limited to applications, websites, web applications, and associated hardware, to identify potential barriers for users with sensory, physical, learning and other disabilities. Audits will be based on the requirements of the MassIT Enterprise IT Accessibility Standards and the MassIT Enterprise Web Accessibility Standards ("MassIT Standards".) The MassIT Standards are published at http://www.mass.gov/accessibility. These standards are subject to change during the life of the contract and successful bidders will test using the most current standards posted at the time that the Project Statement of Work ("SOW") is signed.

Deliverables will include a summary report of key findings and a detailed report of all compliance errors discovered, both referencing the MassIT Standards, and recommendations for remediating these errors. Deliverables may also include presentations of findings, re-testing, and other directly related activities as defined in SOWs, including, without limitation, collaborating with vendors and the procuring agency in the prioritization of accessibility defects and recommending resolutions for them.

Category B: Accessibility Consulting Services Vendors selected under Category B of this contract will supply information technology professional services specific to IT accessibility in the areas of planning, QA testing, application design, remediation, help desk services, and other professional services. Services must pertain only to IT accessibility.

Category C: Document Remediation Services Vendors selected under Category C will provide accessibility testing and remediation of binary file format content, including but not limited to Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files, Portable Document Format (PDF) files, and eBook formats (ePub, Daisy, etc.)

Category D: Accessibility Training Services Vendors selected under Category D will provide services to train technical, management, and general staff in accessibility requirements and techniques. Training options may include classroom sessions, remote sessions (including webinars, distance learning, etc.) and on-demand eLearning. Training services may also include custom courses to meet specific needs.

Category E: Multimedia Transcription, Captioning, and Description Services Vendors selected under Category E will provide transcription, captioning, video description, and related services for audio and or video content. Content may be in any number of commonly used formats, including but not limited to aiff, avi, flv, m4a, wmv, mov, mp3, mp4, mpeg, wav, and wma.

Category F: Assistive Technology Scripting Services Vendors selected under Category F will produce custom scripting for AT software, such as JAWS, ZoomText, etc., to optimize the usability of software programs, websites, or web applications for AT users.

Background information The current statewide contract for IT Accessibility Services. ITS52DesignatedITD, is scheduled to terminate on March 31, 2016. The statewide contract resulting from this RFR, ITS61DesignatedITD (“ITS61”) will include the same information technology accessibility services ("ITAS") in six categories.

Applicable Procurement Law This Bid is issued under MGL c. 7, § 22; c. 30, § 51, § 52; and 801 CMR 21.00 (Goods and Services) Number of awards The target maximum number of Contractors for each Category is listed below. These are a target numbers; the SSST may award more or fewer Statewide Contracts if it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth to do so.

Category A: Accessibility Audit Services - 5 Category B: Accessibility Consulting Services - 10 Category C: Document Remediation Services - 10 Category D: Accessibility Training Services - 5 Category E: Multimedia Transcription, Captioning, and Description Services- 10 Category F: Assistive Technology Scripting Services - 5 Adding Contractors after initial Statewide Contract award This is an Open Enrollment contract.

It is the intent of the SSST to reopen the solicitation (Bid) to obtain additional responses according to the following schedule, subject to change:

1) upon the annual anniversary date of the initial contract award; or

2) upon a decision at any time of the SSST to open the solicitation (Bid) up for more responses if it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth to do so.

The SSST intends to close the enrollment period twelve (12) months prior to the End Date of the Contract. All contracts shall be awarded with coterminous end dates.

The SSST also reserves the right to suspend the review of additional submissions for specific reasons or to close the Bid for new responses entirely if it deems that the number of Contractors awarded at that point adequately meets the needs of eligible entities.

Eligible Entities Any Contract resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the following types of entities:

1) Cities, towns, districts, counties and other political subdivisions;

2) Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, including all Departments and elected offices therein;

3) Independent public authorities, commissions and quasi-public agencies;

4) Local public libraries, public school districts and charter schools;

5) Public hospitals owned by the Commonwealth;

6) Public institutions of higher education;

7) Public purchasing cooperatives;

8) Non-profit, UFR-certified organizations that are doing business with the Commonwealth;

9) Other states and territories with no prior approval by the State Purchasing Agent; and

10) Other entities when designated in writing by the State Purchasing Agent.

Each eligible entity is responsible for executing its own purchase orders and paying its own invoices for goods and/or services acquired from this Contract. Contractors will be responsible for marketing their goods and/or services to Commonwealth Agencies and other eligible entities.

Acquisition Method(s) The acquisition method to acquire goods and/or services from this Bid is mixed; the Commonwealth may solicit fee for service, firm fixed price or time and materials quotations.

Contract Duration The initial term of this Contract is seven (7) years. In addition, this Contract has two (2) options to extend up to one year each with a maximum Contract term of up to nine (9) years (including the initial term and all possible extension options).

Performance and payment time frames which exceed Contract duration 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.

Estimated Value of the Contract The estimated value of purchase(s) resulting from this Bid is $1,000,000. 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.

Basis for estimated dollar value for this Statewide Contract (including all options to extend) Although the complete expenditures made by eligible entities using the existing contracts is not available, the estimated value is based on similar goods/services purchased in FY 2013-2015.

Estimated Procurement Calendar

Table 1 Estimated Procurement Calendar

http://www.mass.gov/anf/docs/osd/training/vendor-schedule-2016.pdf includes webinars and in-person training at various locations for using COMMBUYS and learning about Supplier Diversity plans and certification and the Small Business Purchasing Program

Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as displayed on the COMMBUYS system clock displayed to Bidders after logging in. If there is a conflict between the dates in this Procurement Calendar and dates in the Bid’s Header, the dates in the Bid’s Header on COMMBUYS shall prevail. Bidders are responsible for checking the Bid record, including Bid Q&A, on COMMBUYS for Procurement Calendar updates.

Written questions via the Bid Q&A on COMMBUYS The “Bid Q&A” provides the opportunity for Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers from the Strategic Sourcing Services Team (SSST) regarding this Bid. All Bidders’ questions must be submitted through the Bid Q&A found on COMMBUYS (see below for instructions). Questions may be asked only prior to the Deadline for Submission of Questions stated in the Procurement Calendar. MassIT reserves the right not to respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

Please note that any questions submitted to the SSST using any other medium (including those that are sent by mail, fax, email or voicemail, etc.) will not be answered. To reduce the number of redundant or duplicate questions, Bidders are asked to review all questions previously submitted to determine whether the Bidder’s question has already been posted.

Bidders are responsible for entering content suitable for public viewing, since all of the questions are accessible to the public. Bidders must not include any information that could be considered personal, security sensitive, inflammatory, incorrect, collusory, or otherwise objectionable, including information about the Bidder’s company or other companies. The SSST reserves the right to edit or delete any submitted questions that raise any of these issues or that are not in the best interest of the Commonwealth or this Bid.

All answers are final when posted. Any subsequent revisions to previously provided answers will be dated.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Vendors and awarded Vendor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Vendor’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from MassIT, including requests for clarification. MassIT and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Vendor’s/ awarded Vendor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Vendor’s/ awarded Vendor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Vendor/ awarded Vendor and MassIT to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Locating Bid Q&A Log into COMMBUYS, locate the Bid, acknowledge receipt of the Bid, and scroll down to the bottom of the Bid Header page. The “Bid Q&A” button allows Bidders access to the Bid Q&A page.

Qualifications and Specifications Vendors may submit bid(s) on one, some, or all of the six (6) ITAS Categories. Each ITAS Services has its own specification.

Sections 3.1 through 3.6 apply to Categories A through F respectively.

Sections 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, and 3.11 pertain to all Categories.

Category A: Accessibility Audit Services Bidder Qualifications Vendor-Independent Perspective The bidder must be independent with respect to specific vendors or technical approaches and have the freedom to identify any deviations of the prime contractor’s deliverables from the accessibility testing criteria specified in the MassIT Standards.

As a "third party tester", the bidder should have no financial or other significant interest in the success or failure of a particular system to be tested, in the prime contractor selling that system to or developing it for the Commonwealth, in any subcontractors of the prime contractor, or in any hardware or software products that the prime contractor is selling to the agency that could compromise their objectivity as a tester.

Accessibility Knowledge and Experience Bidders must have an in-depth understanding of the following laws, regulations, and standards:

Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act and implementing regulations Section 255 of the Federal Telecommunications Act and implementing regulations Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and implementing regulations Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 and implementing regulations Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act The World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), including associated Success Criteria, Failures, and Techniques The World Wide Web Consortium’s Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) The World Wide Web Consortium’s Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) Massachusetts Office of Information Technology Enterprise Web Accessibility Standards Massachusetts Office of Information Technology Enterprise Information Technology Accessibility Standards Massachusetts Executive Order 526: order regarding non-discrimination, diversity, equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Bidders must have knowledge of emerging ICT standards and of activities related to the update of US federal regulations for accessibility.

Formal participation in advisory, working, or other groups contributing to the aforementioned standards and regulations is highly preferred.

Bidders must have significant experience with the following technology areas:

Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, and Linux/Unix operating systems.

Web technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and plugin-ins including Flash and Silverlight.

The World Wide Web Consortium’s WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) suite.

Mobile web and application development Microsoft Office, PDF, eBook, and other electronic document formats.

Software development lifecycle and systems integration processes.

Bidders must have in-depth knowledge of Assistive Technology ("AT") software, including without limitation screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech recognition.

Bidders must have in-depth knowledge of accessibility testing including:

Methodologies and processes for conducting testing to determine compliance with standards, guidelines, or other specifications Accessibility testing using AT software.

Software for code inspection and automated testing.

Bidders must have significant knowledge of accessibility best practices throughout the software /system lifecycle using waterfall, agile, or hybrid project methodologies.

Bidders must have practical knowledge of technology and AT product support for accessibility features and solutions.

Bidders must provide a “Statement of accessibility knowledge and experience” that describes how they meet the above requirements.

Company experience Years in business Bidders must have been in business for at least three (3) years, providing Accessibility Audit Services. The SSST reserves the right to determine if the work identified by bidders is acceptable. In the case of companies formed after this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SSST may consider the company’s experience prior to the merger or acquisition.

Years in the industry of the Solicitation Bidders should have been in business for at least five (5) years, providing ITAS as specified in at least three (3) Categories of this RFR. The SSST reserves the right to determine if the work identified by bidders is acceptable. In the case of companies formed after this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SSST may consider the company’s experience prior to the merger or acquisition.

Company memberships and certifications Bidders may submit information about company memberships, certifications, and other professional affiliations that provide evidence of expertise in the area of ICT accessibility by including it in the “Statement of accessibility knowledge and experience”.

Employee technical/business experience, certifications, licenses Bidders must list employees who would be performing the assessments. The list must include their roles and the maximum hourly rate that will be charged for that role for the time and materials work referenced under this RFQ. In addition, bidders must supply a description of relevant experience and memberships, certifications, and other professional affiliations for each employee listed.

Bidders must list supporting roles involved in conducting and reporting on Accessibility Audit Services and the maximum hourly rate that will be charged for each role.

Service Specifications Accessibility Audit Services Contractors will work with the MassIT Director of IT Accessibility and the Purchasing Entity that has requested their service. Contractors will evaluate ICT, including but not limited to applications software, web sites, web applications, and associated hardware, as required by the IT Acquisition Accessibility Compliance Program, described at http://www.mass.gov/accessibility, or to meet other business or legal requirements.

Purchasing Entities will define what is to be tested for compliance, such as by providing URLs or an inventory of screens, and provide Contractors with required credentials and permissions.

Contractors will identify potential barriers for users with sensory, physical, learning and other disabilities, based on the requirements of the MassIT Standards, using automated testing tools, code inspection, and assistive technology, and provide a written report of their findings to the MassIT Director of IT Accessibility and the Procuring Entity. The report must include (1) an overview of incorporated accessibility features, (2) specific elements that are not in compliance, with illustrative screenshots and reference to the MassIT Standards, and (3) recommendations for remediation.

Purchasing Entities may require one or more cycles of re-testing after remediations have been implemented. Re-testing can either be included as a contingency in the original SOW, an amendment to the SOW, or a new SOW. Following each re-test, the Contractor will submit an updated written report documenting their detailed findings, including (1) an overview of incorporated accessibility features, (2) specific elements that are not in compliance, with illustrative screenshots and reference to the MassIT Standards, and (3) recommendations for further remediation.

Bidders must supply one (1) sample audit report that is similar to what is required here that they have provided to a customer within the past two (2) years. Confidential, proprietary, or other contractually protected information may be redacted.

Category B: Accessibility Consulting Services Bidder Qualifications Accessibility Knowledge and Experience Bidders must have an in-depth understanding of the following laws, regulations, and standards:

Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act and implementing regulations Section 255 of the Federal Telecommunications Act and implementing regulations Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and implementing regulations Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 and implementing regulations Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act The World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), including associated Success Criteria, Failures, and Techniques The World Wide Web Consortium’s Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) The World Wide Web Consortium’s Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) Massachusetts Office of Information Technology Enterprise Web Accessibility Standards Massachusetts Office of Information Technology Enterprise Information Technology Accessibility Standards Massachusetts Executive Order 526: order regarding non-discrimination, diversity, equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Bidders must have knowledge of emerging ICT standards and of activities related to the update of US federal regulations for accessibility.

Bidders must have significant experience with the following technology areas:

Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, and Linux/Unix operating systems.

Web technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and plugin-ins including Flash and Silverlight.

The World Wide Web Consortium’s WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) suite.

Mobile web and application development Microsoft Office, PDF, eBook, and other electronic document formats.

Software development lifecycle and systems integration processes.

Bidders must have in-depth knowledge of Assistive Technology ("AT") software, including without limitation screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech recognition.

Bidders must have practical knowledge of accessibility testing including:

Methodologies and processes for conducting testing to determine compliance with standards, guidelines, or other specifications Accessibility testing using AT software.

Software for code inspection and automated testing.

Bidders must have significant knowledge of accessibility best practices throughout the software /system lifecycle using waterfall, agile, or hybrid project methodologies.

Bidders must have practical knowledge of technology and AT product support for accessibility features and solutions.

Bidders must be familiar with software development lifecycle and systems integration processes, and must have experience working with methodologies for planning, project management, quality assurance, and code and documentation management.

Bidders must provide a “Statement of accessibility knowledge and experience” that describes how they meet the above requirements.

Company experience Years in business Bidders must have been in business for at least three (3) years, providing Accessibility Consulting Services. The SSST reserves the right to determine if the work identified by bidders is acceptable. In the case of companies formed after this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SSST may consider the company’s experience prior to the merger or acquisition.

Company memberships and certifications Bidders may submit information about company memberships, certifications, and other professional affiliations that provide evidence of expertise in the area of ICT accessibility.

Employee technical/business experience, certifications, licenses For each service listed under 3.2.3.1 Accessibility Consulting Services Offerings, bidders must list the roles required to perform that service and the maximum hourly rate that will be charged for that role for time and materials work. The list must include at least one employee who would be performing that role. In addition, bidders must supply a description of relevant experience and memberships, certifications, and other professional affiliations for each employee listed.

Bidders must list supporting roles involved in providing those services and the maximum hourly rate that will be charged for each role.

Service Specifications Accessibility Consulting Services offerings Bidders must list and describe the professional services they offer specific to IT Accessibility Consulting Services, grouped by the following sub-categories:

Planning and strategy:

Services in support of accessibility planning efforts, such as conducting assessments of accessibility policies and procedures, developing enterprise or agency accessibility improvement strategies, advising on integrating accessibility requirements and best practices in development projects, etc.

Development/QA testing:

Testing services during development of ICT, such as suggesting testing tools, producing test scripts, performing tests, conducting AT user testing, tracking accessibility defects, producing test results reports, etc.

Note: Testing services provided under Category B do not meet the requirements of the IT Acquisition Accessibility Compliance Program, described at http://www.mass.gov/accessibility. Commonwealth agencies must use Category A vendors for audit testing for the IT Acquisition Accessibility Compliance Program.

Web/application design, development, and remediation:

Technical services to ensure accessible ICT, such as advising on the strengths and limitations of solutions sets, analyzing external accessibility reports, identifying accessibility problem solutions, producing or editing mark-up or code, etc.

Category C: Document Remediation Services Bidder Qualifications Accessibility Knowledge and Experience Bidders must have practical knowledge of the MassIT Standards as they pertain to electronic documents.

Bidders must have significant experience with the technology areas for which they are offering services. They must have extensive knowledge of accessibility best practices for those formats.

Remediated documents must meet the relevant portions of the MassIT Standards.

Company experience Years in business Bidders must have been in business for at least three (3) years, providing Document Remediation Services. The SSST reserves the right to determine if the work identified by bidders is acceptable. In the case of companies formed after this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SSST may consider the company’s experience prior to the merger or acquisition.

Employee requirements Bidders must describe the training, experience, and certifications they require for employees remediating electronic documents in a “Statement of employee training, experience, and evaluation”.

Bidder must describe how they evaluate the quality of the remediation work performed by their employees in the “Statement of employee training, experience, and evaluation”.

Bidders must list the roles involved in remediating documents and the maximum hourly rate that will be used in calculating quotes.

Service Specifications Document Remediation Offerings Bidders must indicate which of the following electronic document formats they provide remediation services for.

Microsoft Word : .doc, .docm, .docx, .dot, .dotm, .dotx Microsoft Excel: .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xlt, .xltx, .xltm Microsoft PowerPoint: .ppt, .pptx, .pptm, .pot, .potx, .potm Portable Document Format: .pdf Bidders may list additional electronic document formats they provide remediation services for, such as formats used for eBooks or other products.

Category D: Accessibility Training Services Bidder Qualifications Accessibility Knowledge and Experience Bidders must have an in-depth understanding of the following laws, regulations, and standards:

Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act and implementing regulations Section 255 of the Federal Telecommunications Act and implementing regulations Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and implementing regulations Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 and implementing regulations Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act The World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), including associated Success Criteria, Failures, and Techniques The World Wide Web Consortium’s Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) The World Wide Web Consortium’s Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) Massachusetts Office of Information Technology Enterprise Web Accessibility Standards Massachusetts Office of Information Technology Enterprise Information Technology Accessibility Standards Massachusetts Executive Order 526: order regarding non-discrimination, diversity, equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Bidders must have knowledge of emerging ICT standards and of activities related to the update of US federal regulations for accessibility.

Bidders must have practical experience in the technology areas included in their course offerings. Technology areas may include:

Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, and Linux/Unix operating systems.

Web technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and plugin-ins including Flash and Silverlight.

The World Wide Web Consortium’s WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite).

Mobile web and application development Microsoft Office, PDF, eBook, and other electronic document formats.

Software development lifecycle and systems integration processes.

Bidders must have practical knowledge of Assistive Technology ("AT") software, including without limitation screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech recognition.

Bidders should have practical knowledge of accessibility testing including but not limited to:

Methodologies and processes for conducting testing to determine compliance with standards, guidelines, or other specifications Accessibility testing using AT software.

Software for code inspection and automated testing.

Bidders must have significant knowledge of accessibility best practices throughout the software /system lifecycle using waterfall, agile, or hybrid project methodologies.

Bidders should have practical knowledge of technology and AT product support for accessibility features and solutions.

Bidders must provide a “Statement of accessibility knowledge and experience” that describes how they meet the above requirements.

Company experience Years in business Bidders must have been in business for at least two (2) years, providing Accessibility Training Services. The SSST reserves the right to determine if the work identified by bidders is acceptable. In the case of companies formed after this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SSST may consider the company’s experience prior to the merger or acquisition.

Years in the industry of the Solicitation Bidders should have been in business for at least three (3) years, providing ITAS as specified in at least two (2) Categories of this RFR. The SSST reserves the right to determine if the work identified by bidders is acceptable. In the case of companies formed after this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SSST may consider the company’s experience prior to the merger or acquisition.

Company memberships and certifications Bidders may submit information about company memberships, certifications, and other professional affiliations that provide evidence of expertise in the area of ICT accessibility.

Employee technical/business experience, certifications, licenses Bidders must list employees who would be providing Accessibility Training Services. The list must include their roles. In addition, bidders must supply a description of relevant experience and memberships, certifications, and other professional affiliations for each employee listed.

Service Specifications Contractors will provide services to train technical, management, and general staff in accessibility requirements and techniques. Training vehicles may include classroom sessions, remote sessions (including webinars, distance learning, etc.) and on-demand eLearning.

Contractors must ensure that all materials/handouts, physical spaces, and presentations for training provided pursuant to this contract are accessible to attendees with disabilities. Webinar and electronic-based courses must be in compliance with the MassIT Standards.

Agencies may require that course registration and completion information be handled through the Human Resource Division's Performance and Career Enhancement ("PACE") system. Information about PACE can be found at www.mass.gov/pace.

Contractors may offer predefined courses, custom training services, or both.

Predefined Courses Bidders must list the Predefined Courses that can be purchased by seat or class on the Course Offering spreadsheet. For each course, include the course title, course duration, delivery method, maximum class size, target population, course objectives, cost per course, and course cancellation policy, using the exact format of the spreadsheet. Bidders must include all required materials, including but not limited to binders, books, textbooks, articles, professional literature, and other handouts, and any trainer travel expenses in the course pricing. Cost information will be considered a "quote" for procurement purposes.

The format for the Course Offering spreadsheet (Excel) is included as a form under “Agency Attachments” on the COMMBUYS page for this Solicitation entitled "ITS61-D_CourseList.xls".

Bidders must provide a course "catalog" that includes a course description for each course listed in the spreadsheet, not to exceed two (2) pages per course. At a minimum, each course description shall repeat the information in the spreadsheet and include a description of what the course covers and what is required for training facilities.

Contractors should provide materials that reduce waste, such as but not limited to:

providing information online or removable media as opposed to paper;

when paper is used, ensure that it contains a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled content; eliminate the use of binders or other materials that are difficult to recycle in traditional office recycling programs.

Contracting agencies will provide training facilities.

Custom Training Services Bidders may offer Custom Training Services to meet specific needs of the Commonwealth. Custom Training Services include activities including but not limited to curriculum development, customization of predefined courses, development of course materials, development of electronic on-demand courses, and classroom delivery of custom courses.

Bidders must specify the hourly rate and the daily rate it will charge to provide Custom Training Services. The costs offered will remain fixed for the life of the contract, but using entities retain the right to negotiate a lower price with a Contractor.

Category E: Multimedia Transcription, Captioning, and Description Services Bidder Qualifications Vendors selected under Category E will provide transcription, captioning, video description, and related services for audio and/or video content. Content may be in any number of commonly used formats, including but not limited to aiff, avi, flv, m4a, wmv, mov, mp3, mp4, mpeg, wav, and wma.

Bidders may submit bids for one, two, or all of the three (3) service areas:

Transcription and Captioning Services Real-time Captioning Services Video Description Services Company experience Years in business Bidders must have been in business for at least three (3) years, providing Multimedia Transcription, Captioning, and Description Services. The SSST reserves the right to determine if the work identified by bidders is acceptable. In the case of companies formed after this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SSST may consider the company’s experience prior to the merger or acquisition.

Employee requirements Bidders must describe the training, experience, and certifications they require for employees providing Multimedia Transcription, Captioning, and Description Services.

Bidder must describe how they evaluate the quality of the Multimedia Transcription, Captioning, and Description Services work performed by their employees.

Service Specifications Transcription and Captioning Services Bidders must be able to transcribe the auditory information presented in provided audio and video content with 99.5% or better accuracy and deliver it as text files. Bidders can offer to deliver the text files with timing information that can be used to provide captioning for video.

Bidders must list their Transcription and Captioning Services offerings on the Transcription and Captioning Offering spreadsheet, using the exact format of the spreadsheet. For each offering, bidders must include turn-around time, price per playing-time minute of supplied media, accuracy percentage guarantee, formats supported for media and deliverables, number of formats included in the deliverables, the cost to supply additional format(s), and the languages they can transcribe.

Pricing shall be based on a single media file.

"Playing-time minutes" is the length of time it takes to play the media in its native format, rounded up to the next whole minute. For instance, a video that plays in 3 minutes and 10 seconds will be considered to have a playing-time of 4 minutes.

"Turn-around time" shall be based on normal business hours—non-holiday weekdays from 8:45 a.m. ET to 5:00 p.m. ET—unless bidders indicate otherwise.

Cost information will be considered a "quote" for procurement purposes.

The format for the Transcription and Captioning Offerings spreadsheet (Excel) is included as a form under “Agency Attachments” on the COMMBUYS page for this Solicitation entitled "ITS61-E_Captioning.xls".

Vendors selected under Category E must supply a secure ftp site or secure website for Contracting Agencies to upload media files to.

Real-time Captioning Services To be considered for Real-time Captioning Services, bidders must describe the services they offer for providing captioning for live videoconferencing, video on the web, or television broadcast. The description must include the expected accuracy rate.

Bidders must provide a descriptive list of the functional roles of their employees and the maximum hourly rate that will be used in calculating quotes.

Bidders must specify what hardware, software, and personnel Contracting Agencies are expected to provide.

Bidders can list the languages, in addition to English, they are able to provide Real-time Captioning Services for.

Video Description Services To be considered for Video Description Services, bidders must describe the services they offer for providing descriptions of key visual information presented in provided video content, including but not limited to production of text descriptions, with or without timing, and audio tracks to replace or supplement existing audio.

Bidders must provide a descriptive list of the functional roles of their employees and the maximum hourly rate that will be used in calculating quotes.

Bidders can list the languages, in addition to English, they are able to provide Video Description Services for.

Bidders must supply one (1) sample video with video description they have created, not to exceed five (5) minutes in playing time.

Category F: Assistive Technology Scripting Services Bidder Qualifications Accessibility Knowledge and Experience Bidders must have in-depth knowledge of AT software that they are offering Assistive Technology Scripting Services for.

Bidders must have significant experience with the following technology areas:

Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, and Linux/Unix operating systems.

Web technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and plugin-ins including Flash and Silverlight.

Bidders must have practical knowledge of technology and AT product support for accessibility features and solutions.

Bidders must have in-depth knowledge of accessibility testing using AT software.

Bidders must provide a “Statement of accessibility knowledge and experience” that describes how they meet the above requirements.

Company experience Years in business Bidders must have been in business for at least five (5) years, providing Assistive Technology Scripting Services. The SSST reserves the right to determine if the work identified by bidders is acceptable. In the case of companies formed after this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SSST may consider the company’s experience prior to the merger or acquisition.

Company memberships and certifications Bidders may submit information about company memberships, certifications, and other professional affiliations that provide evidence of expertise in the area of ICT accessibility.

Employee technical/business experience, certifications, licenses Bidders must list employees who would be providing Assistive Technology Scripting Services. The list must specify which AT software products they are qualified to provide scripting for and the maximum hourly rate that will be charged for that role for the time and materials work referenced under this RFQ. In addition, bidders must supply a description of relevant experience and certifications, memberships, and other professional affiliations for each employee listed in a “Statement of employee experience”.

Bidders must list supporting roles involved in providing Assistive Technology Scripting Services and the maximum hourly rate that will be charged for each role for the time and materials work referenced under this RFQ.

Service Specifications Assistive Technology Scripting Services offerings Assistive Technology Scripting Services include analysis, script development, and installation support involved in the creation of scripts or plug-ins to customize the use of AT software, to address accessibility deficiencies of websites or installed software or to accommodate other specific needs. Bidders must indicate their ability to provide Assistive Technology Scripting Services for any of the following screen reading, magnification, and speech recognition AT software:

Dragon Naturally…