Question and Answer for RFR 19 DOC 1000 Emergency Notification final.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION

REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

Emergency Notification System RFR# 19-DOC-1000-Emergency Notification

Questions and Answers

Note to Bidders: Forum answers are provided for the sole purpose of assisting the bidders in responding to this RFR. Forum answers are not intended to modify or interpret the terms of the

RFR and shall not be used to modify or interpret the terms of this RFR, either before or after the award of a contract. Please refer to RFR Section 11 Appendix 5- “Glossary and Definitions” and the definition of contract.

The complete Bidders Questions and Answers Forum are contained in this document. The Report can be found as an attachment to the bid solicitation, (COMMBUYS BD-19-1025-DOCFS-FISCM-

39290).

1. How many users/message recipients will be loaded into the cloud/database?

Answer: Currently with Rave we are given unlimited amount of contacts and message recipients.

2. I am seeing a lot with landlines, street addresses & mapping which is more for public facing communications to the public. Am I correct in my assumption?

Answer: Yes that is correct.

3. Rave is based in Framingham and is MA DOC’s current vendor for employee notifications. We acquired the former service of Rapid Notify and migrated the service to Rave Alert. We could simply expand that service to accommodate your requirements.

Answer: That is also correct. Rapid notify was bought out by RAVE and it is our current vendor. The current DOC contract that Rave is on expires on June 30, 2019 with no remaining options to renew. To potentially continue a contract relationship with the MA

DOC, Rave must bid on RFR # 19-DOC-1000-Emergency Notification.

4. Whether we need to come over there for meetings?

Answer: The contract for an off-site computer driven, high speed emergency telephone notification service can be managed remotely by the awarded Contractor. It is not the

DOC’s expectation there will be any need for in-person meetings. That said, per page 10 of the RFR, the awarded Contractor shall identify and make available a Contract

Manager/Customer Support Representative to the DOC for assistance. This person must be accessible to the DOC by telephone and email.

5. Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA? (like, from India or Canada)

Answer: The contract for an off-site computer driven, high speed emergency telephone notification service can be managed remotely by the awarded Contractor. Therefore, there

Emergency Notification System RFR# 19-DOC-1000-Emergency Notification

Questions and Answers are not geographic restrictions on bidding. If a company based outside the USA believes it can meet all the requirements of the RFR, it is free to bid.

6. Can we submit the proposals via email?

Answer: No. Per section 6 of the RFR, bidders must respond by uploading a response in

COMMBUYS and by mailing one (1) original signed copy to the DOC, prior to the due date and time. Please follow the instructions in the RFR.

7. We are going to be responding, we are trying to find a small business partner in MA to respond with us. Do you need this to be on any specific state contract?

Answer: No bidders are free to propose any subcontractor/ partner. It does not have to be on a specific state contract.

8. Has the Department set an annual budget amount for this RFR?

Answer: No, in the past the annual spend has been $5,500.00.

9. How many "emergency notifications" were sent in 2017 & 2018?

Answer: I don’t have the answer for 2017 and part of 2018 because Rapid Notify was our previous system before being bought out by Rave. Since October 8, 2018 the following we have had 80 Drills conducted throughout the system. 6 Emergency Notifications were completed using the Rave Alert Systems.

10. What are you all looking for the system to do? Can we get a "Use Case" to get a better overview of your needs?

Answer: We are looking for a system that notifies our communities and staff utilizing traditional and social media platforms to notify our staff and communities of any emergency that relates to the Massachusetts Department of Correction.

11. How many recipients does the MA Department of Correction plan to host in the Mass Notification

System to notify the public, staff, and agencies with?

Answer: Please refer to the RFR section 1.1 Procurement Scope and Description. This service will have the ability to immediately start contacting designated lists/telephone numbers at the minimal rate of up to 3,000 per hour.

12. Is there any specific state contract that this must be bid on?

Answer: The contract to bid is RFR 19-DOC-1000-Emergency Notification

13. The RFR states: The intent of this procurement is to be able to notify the public, staff, agencies, etc., to inform them of a particular emergency or any type of situation that needs to be spread quickly and accurately. The specifications in Section 3.0 all appear to relate to resident

Emergency Notification System communications. Does the DOC intent to upload staff and agency contact information into the system? Can you provide the estimated number of internal contacts that will be in the system?

Answer: We intend to upload at a minimum of what we currently use with enough assurances that during the length of the contract, any new ways of contact continue to be allowed to be accessed by the Department of Correction.

14. The RFR states: The system shall have the ability to call multiple numbers at one time and also notify personnel via e-mail, text, social media (Facebook, twitter) and cellular phones. The specifications in Section 3.0 suggest that the DOC only intends to contact residents via phone, is this correct? In addition to call residents by phone, does the DOC also need the ability to post information to Facebook and Twitter from the system? Does the DOC intend to leverage additional contact paths of email, text and cellular phones only for reaching personnel?

Answer: Yes, to utilize all current ways of notifying the public along with our staff.

15. For the specification: Obtain commercially available residential telephone numbers and place them in the database. Is the DOC looking for residents contact numbers around specific facilities?

If so, can you define the facilities and the estimated range around the facilities that the DOC needs to reach out to in an emergency? Alternatively, is the DOC looking for all? Commercially available resident telephone numbers? For the entire commonwealth? Can you confirm that the

DOC is requiring the vendor to provide these telephone numbers? Can you provide the population of the areas that will be serviced by this solution? Will the DOC is uploading any of its own resident contact data (e.g. 911 records)?

Answer: The Massachusetts Department of Corrections have three distinctive geographical areas where the majority of our institutions are. The Northern Region which encompasses Harvard, Shirley, Concord area Towns, Central Mass has Walpole, Norfolk, Framingham and the Southern area has Bridgewater, Middleborough and Carver.

16. For the specification: Delivery of digitized messages of varying length o Is the DOC only looking for a call-out solution to reach residents by phone? Does the solution need to be TTY compatible? In addition to call residents by phone, does the DOC also need the ability to post information to Facebook and Twitter from the system? Does the DOC need the ability to allow residents to confirm when they receive a message as well as reporting detailing the delivery of phone messages? Is the DOC also looking for a solution to reach residents by email, SMS or mobile app ? Or does the DOC only intend to use email, SMS or cellular phones for additional communication paths to reach personnel?

Answer: Yes to all above

17. For resident notifications: Can you please provide specific examples of use cases where the system will be used (e.g. planned drills at a location, escaped prisoner, etc.)? Does the DOC currently have solution for reaching out to residents? If so, can you describe the current solution

Emergency Notification System and any specific notification challenges you are looking to address through this RFR? Can you estimate how many resident communications were sent out over the past 12 months?

Answer: We conduct Drills monthly per our policy; we have had a total of 80 Drills since

October 2018 both internally and externally.

18. For internal personnel notifications: Can you please provide specific examples of use cases where the system will be used (e.g. planned drills at a location, escaped prisoner, request for overtime, incident alerts within a specific facility, etc.)? Does the DOC currently have solution for reaching out to residents? If so, can you describe the current solution and any specific notification challenges you are looking to address through this RFR? Can you estimate how many internal communications were sent out over the past 12 months?

Answer: We conduct Drills monthly per our policy; we have had a total of 80 Drills since

October 2018 both internally and externally. We currently utilize the Rave Notification

System.

19. In the Commonwealth Terms & Conditions section it states: All Bidders must complete, execute and return the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions. Complete all blanks and required information fully and accurately. This form must be unconditionally signed by one of the authorized signatories (see Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing, below), and submitted without alteration. Our policy is not to sign any terms and conditions until all the services that are to be included in the solution are finalized and included as part of the agreement with the terms and conditions. Is the Commonwealth open to waiving this requirement for submitted bids?

Answer: The Department is agreeable to waiving a requirement to return a copy of a signed Commonwealth Terms and Conditions form with the bid package. However, an original “wet ink” signature on this document is required from the successful bidder and

Contractor upon Contract Award. Be advised, the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions document is jointly issued by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (ANF), the Office of the Comptroller (CTR) and the Operational Services Division (OSD) for use by all Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“State”) Departments and Contractors. Therefore, the Department of Correction is unable to negotiate and/or accept any changes to this document.

20. In the Standard Contract Form section it states. The Standard Contract Form is a required form.

All Bidders must be prepared to execute a Standard Contract Form prior to Contract execution.

Failure to return a completed and executed Standard Contract Form may disqualify the Bidders response. Our policy is not to sign any contract forms until all the services that are to be included in the solution are finalized and included as part of the agreement along with the terms and conditions. Is the Commonwealth open to waiving this requirement for submitted bids?

Answer: The Department is agreeable to waiving a requirement to return a copy of a signed Commonwealth Standard Contract Form with the bid package. However, an original “wet ink” signature on this document is required from the successful bidder and

Emergency Notification System

Contractor upon Contract Award. Be advised, the Commonwealth Standard Contract Form is jointly issued by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (ANF), the Office of the Comptroller (CTR) and the Operational Services Division (OSD) for use by all

Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“State”) Departments and Contractors. Any changes to the official printed language of this form shall be void. Contractors may not require any additional agreements, engagement letters, contract forms or other additional terms as part of this Contract without prior Department approval.

21. When will this RFP due date be?

Answer: Please refer to the RFR Section 2.0 Estimated Procurement Calendar. Bid responses are due June 4, 2019 2:00 pm.