Response to Offeror Questions document.pdf

Department Of Health, Office of Disease Prevention and Health

Promotion

Nexus SD Partner Engagement and Customer Service

RFP No. 24-0904006-017

State of South Dakota 4101 W 38th Street, Suite 102 Sioux Falls, SD 57106

605-367-5356

Date: March 1, 2024

Subject: Questions and Answers for RFP No. 24-0904006-017

In accordance with the subject Request for Proposal (RFP), the following are answers to questions which have been submitted prior to February 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm CT. These questions are for informational purposes only; they do not alter the requirements specified within the RFP.

Any changes to the RFP will be accomplished by the Office of Procurement Management through the use of an addendum.

1. Question: Please reconfirm the due date for this procurement by providing it in response to answers to questions.

Answer: Proposals are due March 13, 2024; however, only vendors who submitted the required letter of intent by February 16, 2024 will be eligible.

2. Question: Why has this bid been released at this time? If there was a previous solicitation for these services, what was its title, number, release date, and due date?

Answer: This bid was released because the current contractor was secured through a short-term staff augmentation work order request which has expired. The previous solicitation was a work order request associated with RFP #21-0904006-016 Community Information Exchange Support and Implementation released on September 15, 2021 and due September 29, 2021.

3. Question: Can you please provide greater explanation of your expectations related to any required subcontracting to minority-owned, women-owned, or other types or categories of small or disadvantaged businesses? For example, what is required with the proposal, and what is required to comply during the term of the contract?

Answer: There are no relevant expectations for this RFP.

4. Question: Please describe your level of satisfaction with your current or recent vendor(s) for the same purchasing activity, if applicable.

Answer: The State is highly satisfied with the current vendor.

5. Question: Has the current contract gone full term?

Answer: The current contract expires on May 31, 2024.

6. Question: Have all options to extend the current contract been exercised?

Answer: Extension options are no longer applicable due to the expiration of the short-term staff augmentation process.

7. Question: Who is the incumbent, and how long has the incumbent been providing the requested services?

Answer: Helpline Center has been providing these services since June 1, 2021.

8. Question: To what extent will the location of the bidder’s proposed location or headquarters have a bearing on any award?

Answer: Availability and familiarity to the project locale are two of the seven proposal assessment criteria (RFP section 6.0). Much of the community engagement will be completed within the South Dakota communities.

9. Question: How are fees currently being billed by any incumbent(s), by category, and at what rates?

Answer: The current vendor’s contract, including any required reimbursement or expenditure claim information is posted on SD’s transparency website, open.sd.gov.

10. Question: What estimated or actual dollars were paid last year, last month, or last quarter to any incumbent(s)?

Answer: Monthly invoice amounts fluctuate based on actual contractor incurred costs.

Additional information on State spending can be viewed at SD’s transparency website, open.sd.gov.

11. Question: Is previous experience with any specific customer information systems, phone systems, or software required?

Answer: No; however, proposals will be subjectively evaluated.

12. Question: What is the minimum required total call capacity?

Answer: This is yet to be determined as Nexus SD has not yet entered its pilot phase. The expectation is that the awardee will meet the needs of Nexus SD.

13. Question: What is the minimum simultaneous inbound call capacity?

14. Question: What is the maximum wait time?

15. Question: What is the maximum hold time?

16. Question: What percentage of inbound calls must be answered by a live operator?

17. Question: What percentage of calls must be resolved without a transfer, second call, or a return call?

18. Question: What is the maximum percentage of calls that can be terminated by the caller without resolution?

19. Question: Is there a minimum or maximum number of operators and supervisors?

20. Question: What are the required language options?

Answer: English is required.

21. Question: What is the required degree of dedication for the call center? (Can call centers work on other contracts at the same time as this one)?

22. Question: What is the required degree of dedication for the operators? (Can operators work on other contracts at the same time as this one)?

23. Question: Are callers required or allowed to connect with a message verification system or pre-recorded message before connecting to a live operator, or must a live operator be the initial contact?

24. Question: What are the recording requirements for inbound and outbound phone calls and how long must recordings be maintained?

25. Question: What are the recording and storage requirements for non-phone communications?

26. Question: What information is to be included in call logs?

27. Question: What was your average monthly call volume over the past year?

Answer: This is not applicable. Nexus SD has not yet entered its pilot phase.

28. Question: What is the current number of seats for operators and supervisors at your existing call center?

29. Question: What is the current average wait time for phone calls?

30. Question: What is the current average handle time for phone calls and other types of communications?

31. Question: What is the current average after-call work time for operators?

32. Question: Over the past year, what is the percentage of calls received in English versus non-English?

33. Question: Over the past year, what percentage of calls received were in Spanish?

34. Question: What time of day, days of the week, or times of the year do calls typically peak?

35. Question: Can the State please clarify what parties are represented on the SD Nexus Team?

Answer: The Nexus SD team is comprised of the Department of Health, project manager (Public

Consulting Group - this position is going through the RFP process (#24-0904006-015)), community engagement and customer support staff (Helpline Center – RFP #24-0904006-017 is for this role), and technology vendor (Aunt Bertha, dba findhelp).

36. Question: There appears to be some overlap between the Scope of Work and the current contract with the State’s Nexus SD technology vendor. Can the State please clarify which functions are intended to provide oversight of the current technology vendor.

Answer: The Department of Health (DOH) will maintain oversight of all vendors. The contractor awarded for this RFP will not provide any oversight of another vendor; however, they will assist the DOH with ensuring all project activities are completed through providing subject matter expertise, testing the solution, soliciting partner feedback, etc. as needed.

37. Question: What are the specific data management roles/functions the State wants addressed here?

Answer: The selected vendor will pull data (i.e., number of referrals initiated, number of referrals with outcomes documented, types of referrals being requested, etc.) from the technology platform and Nexus SD data lake as required by the Department of Health (DOH).

They will also create documents to accompany the data in order to better explain to partners and stakeholders the meaning and implications of the data. This may include one-pagers, dashboards, written summaries, etc. as needed to meet funding requirements and the needs of DOH partners and Nexus SD members. Additionally, they will manage membership and user data such as tracking partner numbers and utilization. Additional data management needs may be identified as the Nexus SD project progresses.

38. Question: What level and frequency of data analysis, reporting, and documentation does the

State expect the vendor to perform? Will there ever be occasions for the vendor to prepare and deliver reports to key internal or external stakeholders? Please describe.

Answer: The level and frequency of data analysis, reporting, and documentation has not yet been determined due to the pre-pilot status of Nexus SD. However, it is likely that reporting will be required on a monthly basis with additional quarterly and annual reporting as well as ad hoc reporting being needed. It is expected that the selected vendor prepare and deliver reports to key internal or external stakeholders routinely.

39. Question: Is the State looking for the selected vendor to execute marketing campaigns as well as create and maintain media resources?

Answer: The State has a media vendor and internal communications team that handles all marketing and media needs. The selected vendor will assist with review of resources and help facilitate promotion of those materials as appropriate.

40. Question: Where does the State want vendors to include their response to Section 2.0-

Standard Contract Terms and Conditions? Is this a standalone section, or should it be included with the narrative response?

Answer: These terms are included for informational purposes and a response is not required.

However, if the vendor is unable to meet any of the terms, they should include that information within their proposal as well as the rationale behind their response. There is no specific place within the proposal where this must be documented.