RFI 2025-108.pdf

RFI 2025-108 Page 1 of 5

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

FOR

COMMISSION INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

RFI 2025-108

Florida Department of Education 325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400

Please email submissions to:

Attn: Winston McGriff

Email: winston.mcgriff1@fldoe.org mailto:winston.mcgriff1@fldoe.org

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Commission Information Management System

Purpose and Scope

I. INTRODUCTION

The State of Florida, Department of Education, hereinafter referred to as the Department, is requesting information regarding entities with proven, verifiable, and documented expertise concerning certain commodities and services relating to Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) or other related solutions. This Request for Information (RFI) is being issued strictly for the purpose of gaining knowledge of the products and services available on the market relating to Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) solutions.

This is an RFI as defined in section 287.012(22), Florida Statutes (F.S.), for planning purposes only. This is not a solicitation for offers. The information gathered from this RFI may be used to develop a future competitive solicitation, legislative budget request or other planning documents.

II. PROGRAM BACKGROUND

The Commission for Independent Education currently uses an SQL-based database with a Microsoft Access interface to facilitate the licensure and regulation of approximately 1,000 licensed postsecondary education institutions in accordance with Chapter 1005, Florida Statutes, and Rule 6E, Florida Administrative Code. This database is used to track annual applications for licensure, retain documentation submitted by licensed and closed institutions for public records requests, produce documents for each of the Commission’s six annual bi-monthly Commission meetings, collect and provide access to institutional and programmatic data submitted by licensed institutions, track complaints submitted against licensed and unlicensed institutions and other various tasks related to the Commission’s licensure activities.

III. PROGRAM GOALS

The primary goal of the program is to seek information regarding entities with cloud-based Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions available to meet the needs of the Commission by replacing its current Management Information System and making this system available via the web. It is the goal that this RFI will provide the Commission with key information including cost ranges, system availability, scale, and feasibility. The primary needs of this system are to:

Support the work of the Commission with processing of applications and associated reports.

Enable electronic submission of applications, reports, data collection and documents by institutions.

Implement customizable online forms with database integration.

Allow collaboration between staff and institutions on applications and documents.

Support various file format uploads (e.g., .doc, .xls, .pdf)

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Allow role-based access for staff to create new records, input or update select data.

Provide secure web access for approximately 40 staff members and 1,000 licensed institutions (approximately 2,000 unique users) based on their individual roles.

Support the entire document lifecycle to include, but not limited to, creation and capture, organization and management, workflow, and approval, viewing and sharing, and retention and disposal.

Allow metadata and other necessary data and documents to be migrated from the current information management system. The Commission currently houses over 800 GB of documents with over 60 GB added over the last calendar year.

Provide the ability to migrate data and documents into and out of the vendor system.

Provide a user interface for institutions and staff to input data as well as upload documents with pre-defined document formats (.pdf, .docx, .xlsx, etc.) and internally categorized document types.

Enable staff to manage applications and reports throughout the workflow process.

Track changes to the license status and updates this information on a publicly accessible online directory.

Provide an easy-to-use file download feature for external users, including bulk downloads.

Provide easily configurable workflows, for example:

o Workflows should be robust yet intuitive for professional staff to manage without requirement for IT programming resources.

o Should provide Graphical User Interface (GUI) tools for creating and modifying workflow steps.

o Should include automated emails to workflow parties; and o Should provide metrics for analysis of individual workflow-parties performance

(e.g., identify how long a document was in an individual’s approval queue or when an application was received and/or a response is required).

Incorporate a built-in reporting system with the ability to customize data searches.

Offer customizable report generation to include agendas, summary sheets and relevant documents for Commission meetings.

Provide audit trail functionality which stores complete history logs for data modifications.

Provide archiving capabilities for easily accessible document retrieval and public record requests.

Provide database administration functionality that is manageable by Commission managerial staff.

Allow for the potential of integrated online payment processing through NIC Services (the state contract bank vendor).

Must be compliant with State of Florida system security standards (Rule Chapter 60GG-

2, F.A.C.).

IV. OBJECTIVE

The objective of this project is to gain information on the entities available for replacing the Commission’s current Information Management System.

V. PURPOSE

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued for the purpose of obtaining information regarding a system that will meet the Commission’s desire to:

Efficiently and effectively regulate the licensure of independent postsecondary institutions.

Improve the workflow processes.

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Provide electronic means of communication with institutions including transmitting large documents via a web-based application.

Facilitate the review of applications required for licensure.

Collect and distribute information regarding institutions under its jurisdiction.

Responses should provide information that supports the below Response Format section based on the above paragraphs.

VI. PROCESS

Department management will review and analyze information received in response to this RFI to determine the feasibility of issuing a competitive solicitation for these products/services. Any request for cost information received will be used solely to gain a perspective of the potential budgetary magnitude.

Responses to this request will be reviewed for informational purposes only and will not result in the award of a contract. Vendors submitting a response to this RFI are not prohibited from responding to any related subsequent solicitation.

VII. RESPONSE FORMAT

Respondents are requested to address all of the following in their response:

1) Company literature, such as corporate overview and company structure, financial soundness and stability, and services currently offered.

2) Point of contact information, including representative name and alternative, if available, telephone number(s), and e-mail address(s).

3) Vendor solution approach and recommendation(s) for the agency including a suggested high-level implementation plan for deploying any solution and for migrating documents from existing agency document management systems.

4) Complete terms and conditions covered by product maintenance agreement (e.g., support levels, software usage restrictions).

5) Availability through any current Florida Agency Term Contract (ATC), State Term Contract (STC) or Alternate Contract Source (ACS).

6) Vendor’s current number of installations and customers and size of customer base.

7) Descriptions of similar projects including customer examples and case studies.

8) If/how the proposed solution can integrate/interface with other systems (e.g., via APIs) and how existing scripts can be migrated.

9) Technical Capabilities to include:

a. Any specifications and technical details

b. Standards compliance (e.g., ISO, industry-specific standards)

c. Options for configuration

d. Options for customization

e. Integration capabilities with other systems

f. API availability and documentation

g. All file format(s) supported.

10) A description of the proposed implementation timeline and process.

11) Description of any backups and disaster recovery plans.

12) Documentation regarding any security features and protocols including compliance with relevant laws and regulations (e.g., Fed Ramp, GDPR, FERPA) and data protection and privacy policies in accordance with Rule 60GG-2, Florida Administrative Code.

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13) Costs/pricing structure for proposed solution(s) to include implementation costs, ongoing costs after implementation and any licensing terms and conditions.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

A. Time Schedule (ALL DATES IN RFI SUBJECT TO CHANGE.)

The following timetable shows the approximate dates for this RFI. All times indicated are Eastern Time (ET).

Request for Information Issued

December 6, 2024

Questions Due no later than

December 16, 2024 @ 2:00 P.M. ET

Answers to Vendors on or about

December 19, 2024

Receipt of e-mailed RFI responses

January 7, 2025 @ 2:00 P.M. ET

PLEASE PROVIDE RESPONSES VIA EMAIL

B. Questions and Restrictions

The Department may be contacted via email (preferred) or fax regarding submission of questions concerning this RFI. Respondent’s questions must be submitted in writing and received by the Department on or before the specified due date at the following email address or fax:

Please send questions to:

Attn: Winston McGriff 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 344

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400 Email (preferred): winston.mcgriff1@fldoe.org

Fax Number: 850-245-0719 Telephone Number: 850-245-0733

Answers will be posted on the Florida Vendor Information Portal (VIP) at https://vendor.myfloridamarketplace.com/ (click on Search Advertisements under the Florida Solicitation Advertisement section, then populate the Organization field with the Department of Education. Initiate search by clicking the Search button). Click on this RFI number to review posted documents. It is the responsibility of all Respondents to monitor this site for any changing information prior to submitting a response.

https://vendor.myfloridamarketplace.com/