RFI 26-84093 Main Document.pdf

STATE OF INDIANA

Request for Information 26-84093

Indiana Department of Administration

On Behalf of the Indiana Office of Technology

Request for Information For:

Project Management Center of Excellence &

Project Management as a Service

Response Due Date and Time:

September 17, 2025 by 3:00 PM ET

Kevin March, Procurement Consultant kmarch@idoa.in.gov

Indiana Department of Administration

Procurement Division

402 W. Washington St., Room W468

Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

Contents

SECTION ONE GENERAL INFORMATION AND REQUESTED PRDUCTS/SERVICES

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

1.4 BACKGROUND

1.5 GOALS

1.6 RFI OUTLINE

1.7 SUMMARY OF MILESTONES

1.8 QUESTION/INQUIRY PROCESS

1.9 RFI CLARIFICATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

1.10 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

1.11 DUE DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS

SECTION TWO RESPONSE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

SECTION THREE EVALUATION CRITERIA …………………………………………………………………………………………………..11

Section One

General Information and Requested Products/Services

1.1 Introduction

In accordance with applicable Indiana Code provisions, Rules, and Policies, the Indiana Department of

Administration (IDOA), acting on behalf of the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT), requires Project

Management as a Service for IOT.

1.2 Definitions and Abbreviations

Following are explanations of terms and abbreviations appearing throughout this RFI. Other special terms may be used in the document, but they are more localized and defined where they appear, rather than in the following list.

IC

Indiana Code

Installation

The delivery and physical setup of products or services.

Prime

Contractor

Refers to the entity responding to the solicitation.

Products

Tangible goods or manufactured items as specified in this solicitation

Proposal An offer as defined in IC 5-22-2-17

Respondent

An offeror as defined in IC 5-22-2-18; and any entity or person who does business with the State and is registered as same. The State will not consider a proposal responsive if two or more offerors submit a joint or combined proposal. One entity or individual must be clearly identified as the company who will be ultimately responsible for performance of the contract.

Services

Work to be performed as specified in this solicitation

State

The State of Indiana

State Agency

As defined in IC 4-13-1, “State Agency” means an authority, board, branch, commission, committee, department, division, or other instrumentality of the executive, including the administrative, department of State government

1.3 Purpose of the Request for Information (RFI)

The purpose of this RFI is to gather feedback and information for IOT regarding the development and implementation of a Project Management Center of Excellence (CoE) to support consistent, efficient, and high-impact project delivery across the State of Indiana enterprise. Responses to this RFI will provide important input for the State’s implementation of PMaaS. The feedback and information gained from this

RFI may be used in the development of a future competitive solicitation process, leading to the designation of a provider(s) best suited to meet the State’s needs. The State may elect to limit participation in any future competitive solicitation to vendors that respond to this RFI.

It is the intent of IDOA to solicit responses to this RFI in accordance with specifications contained in this document. The State reserves the right to directly award a contract for the Project Management Center of

Excellence and Project Management as a Service to a vendor or vendors based on responses to this RFI or the State may choose to release a follow up Request for Proposal (RFP). If the State exercises the right to award this RFI, the State will award a contract to the Respondent or Respondents whose proposal, conforming to this RFI, is most advantageous to the State, price and other factors considered. However, the State does not guarantee that a contract will result directly from this RFI. Neither this RFI nor any response (proposal) submitted hereto is to be construed as a legal offer.

1.4 Background

IOT is undergoing a strategic transformation of its project management practices. Inconsistent delivery, unclear governance, and a lack of standardization across projects have limited IOT’s ability to achieve efficiency and impact in its projects. Additionally, the Project Management Office (PMO) within the Indiana

Office of Technology is currently preparing for the implementation of ServiceNow scheduled to kickoff in

July 2025. To ensure a successful transition, the PMO requires comprehensive documentation of current processes, business process mapping for future state operations, and support for internal PMO projects.

These initiatives will enable the PMO to optimize its operations, standardize project management practices, and leverage the full capabilities of the ServiceNow platform.

Key challenges facing the PMO include:

• Ensuring current processes are thoroughly documented before the ServiceNow implementation

• Mapping existing processes to future state workflows in ServiceNow

• Standardizing project management templates and documentation

• Optimizing demand management and resource allocation processes

• Creating consistent reporting frameworks

• Aligning with Indiana state government compliance and governance requirements

To address these challenges, IOT intends to establish a Project Management Center of Excellence (CoE) as a centralized function supporting:

• Standardized project lifecycle practices

• Enterprise project intake and prioritization

• Governance and reporting structures

• Change management and communication strategies

• Long-term maturity planning and workforce development

As a continuation of the Project Management Center of Excellence (PM CoE) initiative, the Indiana Office of

Technology (IOT) is also exploring the future implementation of a Project Management as a Service

(PMaaS) model.

1.5 Goals

The primary objectives of the PM CoE are to:

• Increase project delivery efficiency across the enterprise

• Promote consistent use of tools, templates and standards

• Improve project intake, resource allocation, and reporting

• Drive adoption through structured change management

• Establish governance models to ensure transparency and accountability

• Create a long-term roadmap for PMO maturity and sustainability

The goal for PMaaS is to create a scalable, flexible service structure that allows for on-demand assignment of qualified project managers based on the size, complexity, and duration of project needs across the enterprise.

The desired outcome of PMaaS is a centralized resource pool—managed by or in partnership with the PM

CoE—that enables rapid deployment, knowledge retention, and consistent quality of delivery without the administrative burden of permanent staffing changes.

For planning purposes, we are estimating 3 levels of skillset demand, lasting an average of 6 months to 1-year in duration:

• Project Coordinator A team member qualified to partner with agencies to manage IOT activities for medium to low priority, more simple, and less risky projects. Examples of projects requiring a Project Coordinator include projects involving hardware replacements, software upgrades, infrastructure updates, and straight-forward system replacements and data conversion.

• Senior Project Manager A team member who oversees complex projects from initiation to completion, ensuring they are delivered on time, within scope and on budget. Focuses on specific high-visibility projects, often handling multiple concurrent projects. Manages project timelines, resources and stakeholder communication. Qualified to manage/lead IOT, agency, and vendor activities for high priority, complex, and risky agency-owned projects. Examples of projects requiring a Senior Project Manager include large projects with multiple complex projects that have significant dependencies on one another and that significantly impact how multiple agencies do business

• Program Director A team member qualified to manage/lead IOT, agency, and vendor activities for multiple high priority, complex, and risky agency-owned projects or an entire portfolio, ensuring strategic alignment with organizational goals. Examples of projects requiring a Program/Project Director include large programs with multiple complex projects that have significant dependencies on one another and that significantly impact how multiple agencies do business. Usually involved in defining the program objectives and ensuring coordinated efforts across projects, working at a higher strategic level. Oversees the integration and interdependencies of multiple projects, balancing priorities and resources across initiatives. Engages with executives and senior stakeholders to ensure program success and strategic alignment.

Each level would consist of remote contractors that IOT will supply required work equipment for role.

Total Duration (Months)

At each level contracts can consist of both short-term and long-term contracts.

Min of 3 months with a max of 1- year with the potential to extend when needed.

INFORMATION REQUESTED

IOT is requesting responses that demonstrate vendor capabilities and proposed approaches to delivering the following tangible outcomes:

Project Management Center of Excellence A. Project Management Delivery Framework

a. Development of a formal, end-to-end framework for project execution, including project phases, activities, and outputs

b. Creation of standardized templates and instructional guides for use across the IOT project portfolio

B. Enterprise Project Intake Process

a. Design of a consistent intake and prioritization process for new projects

b. Recommendations for technology integration (ServiceNow SPM)

C. PMO Governance Charter

a. Development of a governance charter and operating model

b. Role definitions and committee responsibilities

c. Establishment of decision-making and oversight protocols

D. PMO Maturity Roadmap

a. Creation of a 2-5 year strategic roadmap for the PM CoE

b. Identification of short- and long-term milestones for growth

E. SharePoint Project Management Wiki

a. Launch of a centralized SharePoint site housing the delivery frameworks, tools, templates and guidance

b. Content organization and navigation best practices F. Change Management & Communication Plan

a. Development of communication strategies to promote the CoE internally and externally

b. Delivery of communication materials, briefing sessions, and adoption campaigns

G. Weekly Reporting & Continuous Improvement

a. Submissions of weekly status reports and gap assessments

b. Recommendations for iterative improvements

H. Staffing support The vendor shall provide strategic staffing support to ensure the Project Management Center of Excellence (PM CoE) is appropriately resourced during its launch, operationalization, and long-term evolution. This includes both foundational workforce planning support in Phase 1 and informing the scalable, on-demand staffing strategy for Phase 2 (Project Management as a Service). Specifically, deliverables for this section include:

a. Role and Job Description Development

i. Define and document standard project management roles required to support the

PM CoE and IOT’s project portfolio

ii. Each job description must include:

1. Role summary and core responsibilities

2. Required and preferred qualifications, certifications, and years of experience

3. Alignment to IOT's project delivery framework (see Section A)

4. Recommended reporting structure within the CoE governance model (see

Section C)

b. Staffing Structure Recommendations

i. Propose an initial organizational structure for staffing the PM CoE, including permanent roles, shared service positions, and augmentation needs

ii. Include a RASCI matrix identifying who is Responsible, Accountable, Supporting, Consulted, and Informed across all key functions

iii. Provide recommendations for staff augmentation needs to support high-priority initiatives or to address short-term capacity gaps

c. Phase 2 Planning Alignment

i. The vendor’s staffing support should directly inform and align with the Phase 2

PMaaS model described in all subsequent sections of this RFI.

ii. Vendors are expected to outline how initial staffing structures will evolve into a scalable, flexible service model that supports on-demand project assignments and resource availability (see Section L: Scaling, Sustainability, Resource Continuity & Quality Assurance)

iii. This includes developing:

1. A roadmap for transition to fixed to flexible staffing models

2. Planning inputs for rate card development (e.g. hourly, monthly, and project-based FTEs by role level)

3. Workforce segmentation by skillset and domain specialization

iv. Optional Support Services

1. Vendors may also propose optional value-added services, such as:

a. Assistance with interviewing and evaluating candidates for CoE roles

b. Support with onboarding, knowledge transfer, and orientation to IOT project practices

2. Resource performance monitoring and feedback mechanisms

Project Management as a Service

I. Service Design & Operating Model

a. Description of how a PMaaS model would be built and governed

b. Service levels (e.g. response time for resource request fulfillment)

c. Resource assignment protocols (e.g., intake, routing, approvals)

d. How the model can accommodate different project sizes, segments, and stakeholders

J. Resource Pool Development

a. Strategy for recruiting and onboarding a pool of qualified PM professionals

b. Maintain a bench or talent pipeline or pre-vetted, qualified candidates to ensure readiness when project demand increases

c. Minimum qualifications/experience for each tier, as well as expected competencies and certifications

d. Describe how proposed resources will be aligned to project types and levels of complexity

e. Training or orientation plan to ensure alignment with IOT’s delivery framework

f. Provide a rate card for each role category, including:

i. Hourly rates

ii. Monthly full-time equivalent (FTE) rates

iii. Any volume-based pricing models or group discounts

g. Describe how cost structure accommodates:

i. Short-term engagements (< 3 months)

ii. Long-term support (> 6 months)

iii. Hybrid or part-time arrangements K. Transition & Integration

a. Proposed plan for transitioning from the initial CoE framework (Phase 1) into an operational PMaaS model

b. How knowledge transfer, documentation, and tools will be retained and leveraged

c. How the PMaaS model can complement any current in-house or agency PM resources

L. Scaling & Sustainability

a. Provide a flexible staffing structure that allows IOT to scale project management resources up or down with minimal lead time based on portfolio needs at any given time

b. Approach to scaling the PMaaS model across additional agencies or departments

c. Cost-efficiency levers (e.g. shared services, consumption-based pricing, hybrid resourcing models)

d. Explain how the vendor will ensure continuity of service when project assignments end

e. Outline performance management and quality assurance practices to monitor the effectiveness of assigned personnel M. Technology Enablement

a. Tools and platforms recommended to manage the PMaaS lifecycle (e.g. ServiceNow SPM, resource request forms, dashboards)

b. Integration with IOT’s existing project portfolio management or HR systems N. Case Studies or Examples

a. Real-world examples of similar PMaaS models implemented in other state or large public sector organizations

b. Lessons learned and best practices

1.6 RFI Outline

Attachment Description

Attachment A Q&A Template

Attachment B Artificial Intelligence Technical Questions

Attachment C Infrastructure Overview

Attachment D Cost Proposal

Respondents should submit responses to the RFI describing how they will meet the specific requirements of this RFI, and the deliverables included within. All narrative responses must be provided to the State in

Microsoft Word format. Respondents must structure their responses according to the sections outlined below to facilitate the State’s review of the responses. THE TOTAL RESPONSE SHOULD NOT BE MORE THAN TWENTY

PAGES IN LENGTH.

De-Confliction Language

The State will require management of conflicts of interest with the Respondent’s work and other work for the State. Respondents must provide options and an approach for how they will manage conflicts as follows. Provide an approach that would result in complete de-confliction of the Respondent from all other IT projects whatsoever with the State and another approach that would result in de-confliction of the Respondent’s resources assigned to this opportunity. Respondents may offer other scenarios. Explain the impacts to Respondent and to the State in each scenario, including impacts on ability to fulfill the goals of this opportunity, uphold confidentiality, and deliver quality work at a competitive price.

If you would like to provide response/feedback to this RFI for a potential solicitation for IOT, you must provide your response to State as shown in the RFI Timeline and Response Submission section below.

1.7 Summary of Milestones

The following timeline is only an illustration of this RFI process. The dates associated with each step are not to be considered binding.

Key Dates

Activity Date

Issuance of RFI August 5, 2025

Deadline to Submit Written Questions (3:00 PM Eastern Time) August 20, 2025

Response to Written Questions/RFI Amendments September 3, 2025

Due Date for Submissions September 17, 2025

Demonstrations/Oral Presentations (if requested) tbd

1.8 Question/Inquiry Process

All questions/inquiries regarding this RFI must be submitted by the date and time outlined in Section 1.7.

Questions/Inquiries may be submitted in Attachment A, Q&A Template, via email to kmarch@idoa.in.gov no later than 3 pm ET on the date listed in section 1.7.

The subject line of the email submissions must clearly state the following:

“RFI 26-84093 Questions/Inquiries – [INSERT COMPANY NAME]”

Following the question/inquiry due date, Procurement Division personnel will compile a list of the questions/inquiries submitted by all Respondents. The responses will be posted to the IDOA website according to the timetable established in Section 1.5. Only answers posted on the IDOA website will be considered binding and valid by the State. No Respondent shall rely upon, take any action, or make any decision based upon any verbal communication with any State employee.

If it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFI, or if additional information is necessary for a clearer interpretation of provisions of this RFI prior to the due date for submissions, an Addendum will be posted on the IDOA website. If such Addenda issuance is necessary, the Procurement Division may extend the due date and time of submissions to accommodate such additional information requirements, if required

1.9 RFI Clarifications and Discussions

The State may request written responses from and/or remote meetings with Respondents of this RFI.

These could include but are not limited to, requests for additional information or clarification on the information provided. Invitations may be extended to Respondents of this RFI subsequent to the receipt of responses, including but not limited to demonstrations of proposed solutions.

1.10 Confidential Information

Subject to State law, all information submitted in Respondents’ responses to this RFI 26-84093 are deemed deliberative. If a competitive solicitation results from this RFI, the information contained in the RFI response will be deemed a public record once the resulting solicitation has been awarded and the protest period has ended.

However, proprietary information may be kept confidential if requested and marked clearly in your response submission as “CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL.” It is the responsibility of the Respondent to ensure that all confidential information is easily identifiable as confidential.

The Public Access Counselor (PAC) provides guidance on APRA. Respondents are encouraged to read guidance from the PAC on this topic as this is the guidance IDOA follows:

• 18-INF-06; Redaction of Public Procurement Documents Informal Inquiry

If the Respondent does not identify the statutory exception, the Procurement Division will not consider the submission confidential. The State also may seek the opinion of the PAC for guidance at the States discretion.

https://www.in.gov/pac/informal/files/18-INF-06.pdf

1.11 Due Date for Submissions

Respondents interested in providing information to IDOA should submit responses via email to kmarch@idoa.in.gov. All responses must be received no later than September 17, 2025, by 3:00 PM ET.

The subject line of the email submission must clearly state the following:

“RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 26-84093”

Any information received after the due date and time may not be considered.

No more than one RFI response per Respondent may be submitted.

Templates outlined in this document should be returned in their native file format.

The State accepts no obligations for costs incurred by Respondents in anticipation of being awarded a contract.

Section Two

Response Preparation Instructions

2.1 Respondent Requirements

In order to respond to this RFI, the vendor must have a solution that can provide the services described in this document for IOT.

2.2 Response Instructions

Responses should follow the outline provided below. Responses must be kept to a limit of twenty pages.

Any attachments, appendices, graphics, or timelines not contained in the main body of the document will count towards this page limit.

A. General Information

1. Please provide the following information about your organization:

a. Legal Name of Organization

b. Contact Name/Title

c. Contact E-mail Address

d. Organization Web Site

e. Years of Experience Providing Similar Services/Systems

B. Experience

1. Please describe any current or past solutions your organization has designed, implemented, and/or operated that are relevant or similar in nature to the requirements outlined in this RFI, especially in a government environment. Provide specific examples where possible and how much of the solutions were custom vs. out of the box.

C. Proposed Solution Overview Please describe your organization’s proposed IOT Solution based upon the goals described in this RFI.

Specifically, please outline the following (referencing experience where applicable):

1. Overview

a. Describe your proposed solution for these services and your deployment model. Include details on system installation, updates, and test environments.

b. Describe the out-of-the-box features that support State goals and which features would require customization.

c. Describe how users’ access this, how this access is monitored, and by whom.

d. Describe how data ownership and retention is handled.

e. Describe the system back-up and disaster recovery processes and systems in place.

f. Describe your proposed process for addressing any defects and developing/implementing any necessary enhancements.

2. Mobile Capabilities

a. Describe what mobile capabilities, if any, will be available to Suppliers. If your software does offer mobile functionality, please outline what information will be accessible to Suppliers.

3. Financial Data/ Security

a. Describe how you will ensure that State information will be kept secure and confidential.

4. Data Enrichment

a. Describe your suite of data enrichment tools and services, and if / how this suite identifies and validates the status of supplier diversity to ensure reporting metrics are accurately represented.

b. Describe the process and necessary requirements for the migration of historical data into your software.

5. Spend Analysis Tools

a. Describe your suite of spend analysis tools and if / how this can be used to track and report on diverse spend by multiple facets including category, supplier, location, and type of diversity certification.

b. Will dashboarding provide trends summarized clearly?

c. Will users have the ability to search by company name, vendor number, partial name, or owner's name?

d. Will users have the ability to track and monitor all contracts and subcontracts?

e. Describe any tools, and if / how this tool can measure the impact your organizations spend has on the local communities through economic impact reporting.

6. Supplier Discovery Solutions

a. Describe any supplier discovery solutions and if / how this procurement network provides

[AGENCY] with a searchable database of validated diverse suppliers to grow their diverse supplier portfolio.

7. Supplier Registration Portals

a. Describe any supplier registration portals, and if / how this portal gives DSD a channel to collect and manage a centralized repository of supplier data.

b. Explain if this portal will allow diverse suppliers to self-report their status and upload diversity certifications.

8. Diversity tools

9. Maintenance and Operations

a. Outline any ongoing maintenance and operations occurring following the time at which the system goes live.

b. If maintenance and operations are provided by a third party, please provide the name of the third-party service provider, and detail the role of said provider.

10. Other Innovative Functionalities

a. Describe any innovative functionalities or solutions you propose.

D. Implementation

1. Please describe your proposed implementation process, including any applicable software customizations, data transfer requirements, training, etc.

2. Please outline the estimated implementation time period required for your proposed solution, including any potential barriers to implementation.

3. What resources are required from the State for successful implementation and management?

E. Staffing Structure

1. Please outline the key staff positions, number of staff, and proposed education levels that would be required to provide your proposed Solution for IOT.

F. Customer Service

1. Describe the full suite of customer service and technical support offerings provided to both the

State and State Suppliers. Specify whether your customer service capabilities will include in-person, telephone, and/or virtual options. Provide the hours of operation for any customer service support.

G. Training and Support

1. Describe the training plan, materials, and process for both initial and ongoing needs.

H. Performance Measures

1. Please describe any performance measures your organization believes are important to track for potential future IOT Solutions.

I. Product Demonstration

1. In addition to written RFI responses, IOT may invite any or none of the Respondents to make optional, focused, virtual demonstrations of experience, offerings, methodologies, and expertise applicable to the response. Please recommend an amount of time for a demo of your system’s capabilities.

2. Will demonstrations be delivered in person or remotely?

J. Estimated Cost

1. Please detail the potential cost for your proposed IOT Solution, including design, customization, and implementation costs as well as ongoing operation and maintenance costs. Where feasible, please break out these proposed costs as much as possible (e.g., proposed hours and hourly rates, customization costs, and/or costs for ongoing operation, etc.).

2. Pricing on this RFI must be firm and remain open for a period of not less than one hundred eighty

(180) days from the date of award issuance.

3. Please provide your pricing proposal by populating the Cost Proposal (Attachment D). The Cost

Proposal must be submitted in the original format. Any attempt to manipulate the format of the

Cost Proposal document, attach caveats to pricing, or submit pricing that deviates from the current format will put your proposal at risk of disqualification.

4. The Respondent shall provide pricing that aligns with its General Services Administration (GSA) contract or any operative Cooperative contract in place. Where applicable, the Respondent must disclose hourly rates in conjunction with any fixed-fee milestone/deliverable-based pricing. All proposed pricing must clearly demonstrate alignment with the terms, conditions, and applicable rate structures of the relevant GSA or Cooperative contract.

Section Three

Evaluation Criteria

3.1 Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based upon the proven ability of the Respondent to satisfy the requirements of the solicitation in a cost-effective manner. Each of the evaluation criteria categories is described below with a brief explanation of the basis for evaluation in that category. The points associated with each category are indicated following the category name.

If any one or more of the listed criteria on which the responses to this solicitation will be evaluated are found to be inconsistent or incompatible with applicable federal laws, regulations or policies, the specific criterion or criteria will be disregarded, and the responses will be evaluated and scored without considering such criterion or criteria.

Summary of Evaluation Criteria:

Criteria Points

1. Adherence to Mandatory Requirements Pass/Fail

2. Management Assessment/Quality (Business and Technical Proposal)

75 available points

3. Cost (Cost Proposal) 25 available points

Total 100 possible points

All proposals will be evaluated using the following approach.

Step 1

In this step proposals will be evaluated only against Criteria 1 to ensure that they adhere to Mandatory Requirements. The Mandatory Requirements are:

• Attachment D Cost Proposal unaltered and complete with any/all requested supporting documents.

Any proposals not meeting the Mandatory Requirements will be disqualified.

Step 2

The proposals that fulfil Step 1 Mandatory Requirements will then be scored based on Criteria 2 and 3 ONLY. All proposals will be ranked based on their combined scores for Criteria 2 and 3 ONLY. This ranking will be used to create a “short list”. Any proposal not making the “short list” will not be further evaluated.

Step 2 may include one or more rounds of proposal discussions, oral presentations, clarifications, and/or demonstrations focused on cost and other proposal elements. Step 2 may include additional “short lists” at the State’s sole discretion.

Step 3 The short-listed proposals will then be evaluated based on the entire evaluation criteria outlined in the table above.

If the State conducts additional rounds of discussions and a BAFO round which lead to changes in either the technical or cost proposal for the short-listed Respondents, their scores will be recomputed.

The section below describes the different evaluation criteria.

3.1.1 Adherence to Requirements – Pass/Fail Respondents

passing this category move to Step 2

The following 2 categories cannot exceed 100 points.

3.1.2 Management Assessment/Quality

75 available points

3.1.3 Price

25 available points

Cost scores will then be normalized to one another, based on the lowest cost proposal evaluated.

The lowest cost proposal receives a total of 25 points. The normalization formula is as follows:

Respondent’s Cost Score = (Lowest Cost Proposal / Total Cost of Proposal) X 25