PRINCETON PLASMA PHYSICS LABORATORY

Sources Sought / Request for Information (RFI) 26-046

Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) Solutions

This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY. This notice is issued solely for market research and acquisition planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ), Invitation for Bid (IFB), or Request for Proposal (RFP), nor does it promise a future solicitation. Responses are strictly voluntary, and no reimbursement will be provided for costs associated with responding to this notice. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is under no obligation to award a contract or expend appropriated funds based on this inquiry.

1. Background and Objective

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), a Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratory, is soliciting information from qualified sources regarding Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) solutions. The goal is to identify systems capable of supporting the compliant lifecycle management of electronic records.

Interested vendors must be prepared to address functional, security, and compliance requirements and may be invited to participate in technical demonstrations to show how their solution satisfies PPPL’s needs.

2. Small Business and Socioeconomic Consideration

PPPL is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including Large Businesses, Small Businesses, and all socioeconomic categories (SDB, 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB, EDWOSB, HUBZone), as well as HBCU/MIs. This information will be used to determine the appropriate level of competition and establish small business subcontracting goals. PPPL reserves the right to consider specific set-asides based on the responses received.

3. Submission Requirements

Interested firms are requested to submit a Capabilities and Qualifications Statement and must address the Technical Capabilities Questions. This document must be UNCLASSIFIED and provide more than generic marketing brochures. Please include:

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April 15, 2026

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A. Administrative Information

• Firm Name and Address.

• Business Size and Status: (Large, Small, SDB, 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB, EDWOSB, HUBZone, or HBCU/MI).

• Affiliate Information: Parent company, joint venture partners, and potential teaming partners.

• Role: Indicate whether your firm would perform as a prime subcontractor or a lower-tier subcontractor.

B. Technical Capability Questions

1. Relevant Experience: Describe your firm’s experience in providing and implementing ERMS tools.

2. Company Profile: Provide an organizational overview, including relevant experience and at least three client references.

3. Technical Response: Provide a detailed description of how your solution meets the functional and compliance requirements outlined in the attached documentation.

4. Deployment Model: Detail available deployment options (e.g., SaaS, On-Premises, or Hybrid).

5. Security & Compliance: Provide information on security controls, certifications (e.g., FedRAMP), and data residency.

6. Pricing Structure: Provide published pricing, catalogs, or licensing model overviews (e.g., per user, enterprise, or subscription-based). Include costs for any required add-on modules or integrations.

7. Demonstration Availability: Confirm your firm’s availability to participate in a technical demonstration if selected.

4. Response Instructions

All responses must be submitted electronically via email to Cheryl Colan at ccolan@pppl.gov.

• Deadline: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, by 4:30 PM (EST).

• Reference: Please include "RFI – 26-046-Electronic Records Management System" in the subject line.

• Inquiries: All technical and procurement questions should be directed to the Point of

Contact (POC) listed above.

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5. General Information

Responses will not be returned, and respondents will not be notified of evaluation results. The information obtained may be used to develop an acquisition strategy and future RFP. If a solicitation is released, it will be posted on www.SAM.gov. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor SAM.gov for any amendments or official solicitation documents.

REQUIREMENTS DOCUMETATION:

Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) Requirements.

1. Functional and Compliance Requirements & Vendor Demonstration Scope

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) Records Management department is conducting a market evaluation of Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) solutions to support compliant lifecycle management of electronic records. Vendors selected to participate in demonstrations must be prepared to address the functional, security, and compliance requirements outlined below and demonstrate how their solution satisfies these requirements.

2. Purpose and Objective

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to evaluate Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) solutions capable of supporting compliant lifecycle management of electronic records at PPPL.

The RFI is intended to gather information on available solutions, assess market capabilities and support future procurement activities.

3. ERMS Functional & Compliance Requirements

The proposed ERMS solution must meet the following minimum requirements:

Digital Ingest & Capture The system shall support scanning and upload of hard copy records as well as born-digital records created electronically without a paper original. A wide variety of record formats should be supported, including photographic, audio and video recordings, and other multimedia formats.

Metadata Management The system shall provide robust and extensible metadata capabilities, allowing configurable metadata fields to support records classification, retrieval, retention, and compliance.

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Role-Based Access Control The system shall enforce tiered, role-based security controls, ensuring users can access only those records for which they are authorized.

Audit & Traceability The system shall maintain a comprehensive audit trail capturing user actions, records access, modifications, and administrative events.

The system shall log user authentication and access events (e.g., logins, logouts, and access attempts).

The system shall provide visibility into who performed each action and when, ensuring full traceability of records and system activity.

Records Integrity & Locking The system shall ensure that both active and inactive records are locked and protected from further editing or alteration.

Retention Management The system shall support the application of retention schedules to both temporary and permanent records and allow retention rules to be applied automatically based on metadata or classification.

Reporting & Oversight The system shall provide reporting and monitoring tools to support records management oversight, audits, compliance, reporting, and operational metrics.

Workflow Functionality The system shall support configurable workflows for records review, approval, declaration, disposition, and other lifecycle activities.

Records Disposition & Destruction The system shall support authorized destruction of records in accordance with approved retention schedules and generate destruction certifications or equivalent documentation.

Legal Holds & Retention Freezes The system shall allow for the application of legal holds, retention freezes, or destruction moratoriums that override standard retention.

Unique Record Identification The system shall assign a unique identifier to each uploaded or ingested record to ensure traceability throughout the record lifecycle.

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Records Relationship and Linking The system shall support the ability to establish, manage, and maintain relationships between related records. This includes linking incoming and outgoing correspondence, associating records within the same case or transaction, and enabling users to easily identify and navigate related records.

The system shall support metadata-driven relationships (e.g., related records identifiers, case IDs, correspondence threads) and/or native functionality and full lifecycle visibility.

Cybersecurity Controls Any cloud-based system should be FedRAMP certified and utilize USA-based data centers. Access control to a cloud-based system should support Microsoft Entra SSO since PPPL accounts are required for login to any PPPL services.

Search and Discovery The system shall provide advanced search capabilities, including metadata fields, keyword, and full-text search, to enable efficient retrieval or records.

The system shall return relevant results even when exact terms are not used (e.g., partial matches or similar terms).

The system shall support filtering using metadata and allow users to identify and access related records, including those linked through metadata or system relationships.

4. Vendor Qualifications:

Experience with working with Federal Entities similar to PPPL in size and scale is a plus.

Product must be FEDRamp Certified.

5. Vendor Demonstration Requirements- Invitation Only.

If selected (based on response to this RFI), vendors must be prepared to demonstrate their solution capabilities in a virtual format, approximately 2-3 hours with time for questions.

The demonstration should include:

● End-to-end records lifecycle management, including ingestion, classification, retention, and disposition.

● Application of retention schedules based on metadata or classification.

● Role-based access controls and audits logging.

● Legal hold application and management.

● Reporting and compliance monitoring capabilities.

● Vendors should demonstrate how the solution operates within a realistic environment and, where possible, use sample datasets representative of PPPL use cases.

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Vendor Demonstration Expectations Vendors invited for demonstrations should be prepared to:

● Demonstrate end-to-end records lifecycle management, from ingest through retention and disposition

● Show role-based access controls, audit logging, retention application, and moratoriums (legal hold) functionality

● Explain how the solution supports federal records management requirements, including alignment with applicable NARA standards, where relevant

● Identify any add-on modules, integrations, or configuration dependencies required to meet the stated requirements

● Speak about cyber security controls that the product and company adheres to such as data protection, access control, etc.

Vendor Demonstration Questions Vendors should be prepared to address the following questions as part of the demonstration:

Records Lifecycle Management How does the system support the full records lifecycle from creation to final disposition?

How are records declared and managed as official records within the system?

Can retention rules be automatically applied based on metadata or classification?

How are records “locked” to prevent alteration?

How are inactive (i.e., destroyed) records managed and displayed in the system?

Retention & Disposition How does the system ensure defensible disposition of records?

Does the system generate reminder messages to record owners when documents approach the end of their retention period?

Can the system generate audit-ready destruction certificates and store them for compliance?

How are disposition approvals managed, tracked, and audited?

Legal Holds & Compliance How are legal holds applied across records and repositories?

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Can legal holds override retention rules automatically?

How does the system support compliance with federal records management and reporting (e.g., NARA, DOE)?

Governance & Ownership How does the system assign and manage record ownership?

Can business users review, certify, or validate records on a periodic basis?

How does the system support accountability across distributed organizations?

Security and Control How are role-based access controls implemented and enforced?

How does the system ensure that users can only access records they are authorized to access?

What audit logs are captured and how long are they retained?

Implementation & Scalability What is the typical system implementation timeline?

What is the typical process and effort required to integrate and/or migrate data from an existing records system?

What level of effort is required from PPPL resources?

What is the ability of the system to integrate with unstructured data environment record sources to assimilate the records?

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5. General Information