MPE RFP Records and Information Management (RIM) System v.01.pdf

Request for Proposal (RFP) Records and Information Management

System and Records Review Issued by: Mountain Parks Electric, Inc. (MPEI)

Date Issued: July 31, 2025

1.Introduction

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from qualified vendors to provide a comprehensive Records and Information Management System (RIM) and associated services for Mountain Parks Electric, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as MPEI or the Cooperative). The

Cooperative seeks a secure, scalable, and user-friendly solution that enables compliance with regulatory and operational records management requirements. The selected vendor will also be responsible for assisting with the review and classification of existing records, developing retention schedules, and delivering a system that supports robust search, version control, approval workflows, and auditability.

The solution should accommodate both digital and physical records and integrate with the

Cooperative’s existing systems. It must include training, documentation, and post-implementation support to ensure successful adoption and sustainable records management practices across the organization.

2. Company Overview

Mountain Parks Electric, Inc. is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility serving approximately

18,400 members through more than 22,000 meters across approximately 4,000 square miles of Rocky

Mountain terrain. Established in 1946, the Cooperative is committed to delivering safe, reliable, and affordable electric service to homes, ranches, and businesses throughout its service territory.

The Cooperative operates with a focus on community values, innovation, and long-term sustainability.

In addition to providing core electric utility services, MPEI actively invests in modern infrastructure, technology solutions, and member engagement initiatives.

This RFP aligns with a strategic effort to modernize records retention and management practices, improve operational efficiency, and maintain full compliance with evolving regulatory and industry standards.

The Cooperative currently creates, stores, and maintains paper and electronic records in a variety of systems, locations and formats. Primary locations where electronic records are created and maintained include (but are not limited to):

• 600 GB of data in SharePoint & OneDrive

• 2 TB On prem file storage

• 1 TB of data in MS Exchange

The amount of data continues to grow. The locations and systems where records are created and maintained continue to grow. Under these conditions, managing and dispositioning electronic records manually is inefficient, time-consuming, and not feasible. MPEI is seeking a tool designed to address these issues and make the location, assessment, retention management, and legal disposition of electronic and paper records feasible now and into the future, growing with the Cooperative’s needs.

3. Project Goals & Objectives

• Implement a secure, scalable, and compliant Records and Information Management System

(RIM) for all records

• Conduct a comprehensive review and classification of existing records (paper and digital)

• Develop and apply an organization-wide records policy and retention schedule

• Ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, including those from NRECA, FERC, NERC, and RUS as applicable

• Enable user-friendly search, retrieval, and lifecycle management including classification, retention enforcement, and disposition

• Provide training for Cooperative staff

• Identify and correct inconsistent naming conventions to support standardization across systems and departments

• Support electronic routing, review, and approval workflows for automated retention schedules and select documents such as contracts, invoices, policies, and board communications

• Maintain document integrity through version control, with clear tracking of edits, approvals, and user access history

4. Scope of Work

A. Records and Information Management System

• Supports both digital and physical records

• Allows creation and enforcement of configurable retention schedules per document type and regulatory requirement

• Offers secure role-based access controls, user authentication, and complete audit trails

• Integrates with the Cooperative’s existing systems (e.g., Microsoft 365, SharePoint, SCADA) and must work seamlessly alongside our core billing and financial platform

(NISC), even if direct integration is not available. The RIM system must not disrupt or duplicate NISC’s recordkeeping functions and should complement workflows involving

NISC-based data.

• Offers deployment flexibility through cloud, on-premise, or hybrid hosting options

• Provides full-text indexing and metadata tagging for advanced search and discovery

• Supports robust search across metadata, file content, custom fields, and classifications

• Enables electronic routing, review, and approval workflows for automated retention schedules and specific document types, such as: contracts, invoices, vendor forms, board documents, cooperative policies

• Includes comprehensive version control features: automatic version tracking, comparison, change logs, and rollback

• Allows users to define and manage custom metadata fields (e.g., department, project, contract date, document type)

• Supports naming convention enforcement or prompts for standardized naming on upload

• Triggers retention actions based on date created/modified, classification, approval status, or custom metadata

• Supports records legal holds and exemptions from deletion when necessary

• Provides mobile and remote access with appropriate data protection measures

• Disaster recovery and backup (geo-redundant storage, recovery plans)

• Store data with the ability to connect and upload to the web when data connection is available

• Support automated, policy-based destruction of records at the end of their retention period, with configurable workflows for review, exception tagging, and audit logging - destruction should proceed without manual action unless records are flagged for legal hold or discretionary retention

• Allow designated users or departments to flag specific records or categories for discretionary retention beyond the scheduled destruction date, based on business, historical, or strategic value

B. Records Review and Classification

• Conduct a full review and assessment of current physical and digital record storage systems and file shares

• Inventory existing records by location, format, department, and function

• Identify and classify documents by: departmental ownership, functional category, sensitivity or confidentiality level, retention and compliance requirements

• Identify outdated, duplicate, or redundant records for archive or disposal

• Identify inconsistent or unclear naming conventions and recommend a standard cooperative-wide taxonomy

• Prepare records for indexing, tagging, and system migration with updated metadata and naming conventions

• Recommend organization-wide file structure improvements if needed

C. Policy and Schedule Development

• Develop or revise the Cooperative’s records retention policy

• Create, modify, or make recommendations to a records retention schedule that meets operational and legal standards (including RUS, FERC, NERC, IRS, state regulations)

• Align classification groups with industry practices (NRECA recommendations, ISO 15489, etc.)

• Incorporate: naming convention guidelines, file and folder structuring recommendations, versioning, deletion, and archive policies

• Ensure policy is applicable across both physical and digital records

• Default retention schedules to automatic destruction unless overridden by legal hold or documented discretionary retention

D. Training and Change Management

• Provide onboarding and hands-on training for all staff, including general users, records coordinators, and system administrators

• Train staff on version control, metadata use, and naming standards

• Provide training on approval workflow functionality

• Deliver training materials, user guides, and videos that the Cooperative may reuse or modify

• Offer change management recommendations for smooth adoption across departments

E. Compliance and Audit Process

• Enable internal or external audits of: retention policy compliance, classification accuracy, proper version tracking and usage, routing and approval workflow history, access controls and audit logs

• Provide comprehensive reporting and dashboards for: retention status by document type, version history changes, workflow bottlenecks or delays, access violations or anomalies

• Allow audit documentation export and secure access for regulators, legal counsel, or third-party reviewers

• Recommend a cadence for periodic internal audits and system reviews (e.g., annual or semi-annual)

5. Timeline

The following timeline outlines the anticipated schedule for the RFP process and implementation of the Records and Information Management System. All dates are subject to change at the discretion of the Cooperative.

• Milestone • Date

• RFP Release Date • July 31, 2025

• Deadline for Vendor Questions • August 11, 2025

• Cooperative Response to Vendor

Questions

• August 20, 2025

• Proposal Submission Deadline • August 28, 2025

• Proposal Review and Shortlisting • September 16, 2025

• Vendor Presentations / Demos (if needed) • Week of September 29, 2025

• Vendor Selection and Notification • October 16, 2025

• Contract Finalization • November 13, 2025

• Project Kickoff • December 1, 2025

6. Budget

Vendors must provide a detailed cost proposal that includes all expected charges associated with the delivery, configuration, training, and support of the Records and Information Management System and related services. The budget should be broken down as follows:

Required Budget Components:

• Software Licensing (initial and recurring fees)

• Implementation Services (setup, configuration, customization)

• Data Migration and Record Classification

• Training (staff training, materials, on-site or virtual sessions)

• Support and Maintenance (first year included, and ongoing options)

• Audit and Compliance Tools (if licensed separately)

• Optional Enhancements or Modules

• Travel or On-site Costs (if applicable)

• Estimated Total Cost of Ownership (3-year or 5-year projection)

Cost Evaluation:

Cost will be considered as part of the overall evaluation, but the lowest-cost proposal will not necessarily be selected. Value, functionality, scalability, and long-term sustainability will be weighed in conjunction with the budget.

Vendors should clearly specify:

• Any tiered or user-based pricing models

• Payment terms and invoicing schedules

• Any one-time fees or optional services

• Assumptions and exclusions

7. Proposal Requirements

To be considered, each proposal must include the following information, organized in the order listed below:

A. Executive Summary

• Brief overview of the vendor’s understanding of the project

• Summary of proposed solution and its key benefits

B. Company Profile

• Company background, ownership, years in business, key personnel

• Experience with electric cooperatives or utilities (if applicable)

• Client references (minimum of 3, preferably similar in size/scope)

• Details of any subcontracting arrangement proposed by the vendor (if applicable)

C. Proposed Solution

• Description of the Records and Information Management System and related services

• Capabilities relevant to: full-text search, version control, electronic routing/approval, retention schedules, metadata, naming conventions, compliance

• Hosting options (cloud, hybrid, on-premise) and data security protocols

• Integration with existing systems (e.g., Microsoft 365, financials, GIS)

• Compatibility with mobile and remote access requirements

D. Implementation Plan

• Timeline with key phases and deliverables

• Roles and responsibilities of vendor and Cooperative staff

• Data migration and document classification approach

• Change management and training strategy

E. Compliance and Audit Features

• Ability to support internal/external records audits

• Tracking and reporting of user activity, retention enforcement, versioning

F. Support and Maintenance

• Ongoing support structure and service levels

• Software updates, upgrades, and bug fixes

• Escalation procedures

G. Budget and Cost Breakdown

• Complete breakdown and detail of all project costs as outlined in Section 6

H. Assumptions and Exclusions

• Any assumptions about project scope, timing, or responsibilities

• Excluded features or services (if any)

I. Appendices

• Product brochures or documentation

• Sample contract or licensing agreement

• Any additional relevant information

8. Evaluation Criteria

All proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria. The Cooperative may request interviews or product demonstrations as part of the evaluation process. Evaluation will be based on best value and not solely on lowest cost.

• Functionality (25%): Alignment of system capabilities with the Cooperative’s needs, including retention, search, approval workflows, version control, and audit features.

• Ease of Use (15%): User interface design, accessibility, and overall usability for staff at various levels.

• Implementation Plan (10%): Clarity and realism of the proposed timeline, deliverables, staffing plan, and training support.

• Vendor Experience (10%): Demonstrated experience with electric cooperatives or utilities of similar size and scope.

• Technical Compatibility (10%): Ability to integrate with existing platforms (e.g., Microsoft

365, SCADA, billing systems), scalability, and flexibility of deployment (cloud/hybrid/on-prem).

• Compliance and Security (10%): Support for audits, retention policy enforcement, legal holds, access control, and regulatory compliance.

• Support and Maintenance (10%): Quality and responsiveness of technical support, future upgrade path, and service level commitments.

• Cost (10%): Overall cost of ownership, including implementation, licensing, support, and optional features, as well as clarity of the pricing model.

9. Insurance Requirements

The selected vendor shall maintain the following minimum insurance coverage throughout the term of the agreement, and shall provide certificates of insurance prior to commencement of work:

Coverage Type Minimum Limits Requirements

Workers’ Compensation As required by law Includes Employer’s Liability: $1M each accident, $1M per employee (disease), $1M policy limit

General Liability $1M per occurrence, $2M aggregate

MPEI must be listed as Additional Insured

Automobile Liability Waived Waived

Umbrella/Excess Liability Optional; may be used to meet minimums above

Must align with underlying policies

Cyber Liability $1M per claim Cyber Liability Insurance must include coverage for data breach response; privacy liability, network security, and media/content liability. Coverage should extend to both on-premise and cloud-hosted systems, and include third-party claims arising from unauthorized access to MPEI data.

• The insurance carrier(s) shall be licensed to operate in Colorado and rated A- or better by AM Best.

• All policies must be primary and non-contributory to any insurance carried by MPEI.

• MPEI shall be named as Additional Insured on all required policies.

• Certificates of Insurance must provide a minimum of 30 days’ written notice to MPEI before cancellation or material changes.

MPEI reserves the right to adjust limits based on scope of work, risk, or funding source.

9. Submission Instructions

Vendors must submit their complete proposal by August 28, 2025, 5:00 PM Mountain Time to be considered. Late submissions will not be reviewed. Proposals should not rely on read receipts or delivery confirmations as a guarantee of timely submission.

Submission Method:

Proposals must be submitted electronically in PDF format to:

Email: jking@mpei.com

Subject Line: RFP – Records Information and Management System – [Vendor Name]

Questions and Clarifications:

All questions regarding this RFP must be submitted via email by August 11, 2025, 12:00 PM

Mountain Time. A compiled response to all questions will be shared with all prospective vendors by

August 20, 2025:

Jodi King

Executive Assistant/Records Administrator

Mountain Parks Electric, Inc.

jking@mpei.com mailto:jking@mpei.com

Proposal Format:

Please follow the structure outlined in Section 7: Proposal Requirements. Proposals should be clear, concise, and organized.

Additional Information:

• The Cooperative reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

• The Cooperative reserves the right to negotiate terms including but not limited to scope of work, pricing, and timelines.

• Proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria in Section 8.

• The Cooperative may request presentations or interviews as part of the evaluation process.

• All costs incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposal are the responsibility of the vendor.

• All proposals submitted become the property of MPEI and may be subject to disclosure under applicable public records laws. Vendors should mark any proprietary information accordingly.