RFI 5400027113.docx

SAP

State of South Carolina

Request for Information

Solicitation:

Date Issued:

Procurement Officer:

Phone:

E-Mail Address:

Mailing Address:

5400027113 06/14/2024 Johanne M. Sullivan, CPPO, CPPB

(803) 896-0797 Sullivan.Johanne@doc.sc.gov SC Department of Corrections Attn: Purchasing Branch 4530 Broad River Road Columbia SC 29210

DESCRIPTION: Inmate Telephone, Tablet, and Kiosk Services

USING GOVERNMENTAL UNIT: Department of Corrections

SUBMIT YOUR RESPONSE VIA EMAIL TO SULLIVAN.JOHANNE@DOC.SC.GOV with [Company Name]-RFI # 5400027113 Response in Subject Line

SUBMIT RFI RESPONSE BY: 07/10/2024 10:00 AM ET

QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 06/20/2024 10:00 AM ET

Table of Contents

SAP

I. SCOPE OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

General Scope:

The SCDC South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) is requesting information about the current product, service, and security innovations available in the provision of a modern, comprehensive Inmate Telephone, Tablet, and Kiosk System.

The objective of this Request for Information (RFI) is to obtain information from the vendor community about the best practices, current and emerging technologies that provide innovative solutions for correctional organizations.

Given the rapid evolution of technology, SCDC seeks to align its’ current business needs with the recent developments in the features, functions, and capabilities within the marketplace.

Background:

The SCDC operates 21 prisons, serving 16,000 Inmates and employs 4,500 people. It is a cabinet agency lead by Director Bryan Stirling and reporting directly to Governor Henry McMaster.

SCDC Vision Statement Correctional Excellence today for a safer South Carolina tomorrow SCDC Mission Statement To safeguard South Carolinians by providing a secure and rehabilitative environment within our correctional institutions thereby supporting reintegration into society SCDC Values Public Safety, Service, Rehabilitation, Accountability, Professionalism RFI Objectives:

· Identify opportunities to increase administrative communications with the inmate population using tablet features.

· Leverage technological advancements in addressing HIPAA / FERPA compliance as well as ADA / PREA accommodations.

· Determine the availability of enhanced security and construction features for new and existing hardware.

· Improve the effectiveness of customer service and IT service management quality.

· Access to secure and effective interfaces with 3rd party applications.

· Leverage the use of artificial intelligence and biometric technologies to improve administrative processes and security measures.

· Implement effective and collaborative management of tablet inventories.

SAP

II. DISCLAIMER & CONFIDENTIALITY

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation for future business, an offer for procurement, or any other type of current or future procurement or contractual action and is only intended to gather input. SCDC will not award a contract based on this RFI, nor will it pay for the information it receives. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by SCDC to form a binding contract. No party is bound by the information provided in response to this RFI.

Respondents may describe potential services or solutions for planning purposes only.

Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. SCDC is not liable for any costs or fees incurred by the respondent in preparing its responses.

Confidentiality If any of the information in the vendor response is considered confidential, proprietary, or a trade secret, it must be clearly indicated on the appropriate page of the vendor response. Release of such materials is governed by the South Carolina Freedom of Information Law, which in pertinent part requires the requester to provide specific justification as to why disclosure of particular information in the response would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the vendor. It is incumbent upon the vendor to specify company-specific trade secrets in need of protection where public disclosure of said trade secrets would harm the company.

Public Access to Procurement Information in South Carolina: -http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t11c035.php SECTION 11-35-410. Public access to procurement information.

(A) Procurement information must be a public record to the extent required by Chapter 4, Title 30 (The Freedom of Information Act), except as otherwise provided by this code, and with the exception that commercial or financial information obtained in response to a request for proposals or any type of bid solicitation that is privileged and confidential need not be disclosed.

(B) Privileged and confidential information is information in specific detail not customarily released to the general public, the release of which might cause harm to the competitive position of the party supplying the information. Examples of this type of information include:

(1) customer lists;

(2) design recommendations and identification of prospective problem areas under an RFP;

(3) design concepts, including methods and procedures;

(4) biographical data on key employees of the bidder.

(C) The board shall promulgate regulations directing the public availability and disposition of documents submitted in response or with regard to a solicitation or other request where no award is made.

(D) For all documents submitted in response or with regard to any solicitation or other request, the person submitting the documents shall comply with instructions provided in the solicitation for marking information exempt from public disclosure. Information not marked as required by the applicable instructions may be disclosed to the public.

(E) A governmental body, with the approval of the appropriate chief procurement officer, may keep portions of a solicitation confidential and release the information to prospective offerors only upon execution of a nondisclosure agreement, provided the information is otherwise exempted from disclosure by law.

(F) If requested in writing before a final award by an actual bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor with regard to a specific intended award or award of a contract, the procurement officer shall, within five days of the receipt of any such request, make documents directly connected to the procurement activity and not otherwise exempt from disclosure available for inspection at an office of the responsible procurement officer. Without otherwise limiting any other exemptions granted by law, and except as provided herein, documents of and documents incidental to proposed contractual arrangements, including those used for contract negotiations, are not exempt from disclosure after the date notice of intent to award is posted, unless the notice is subsequently canceled.

Respondents to this RFI shall not provide recommendations for specific courses of action and shall not be deemed an advisor or consultant to SCDC. SCDC will evaluate the information presented and determine any subsequent course of action, including contracting for implementation of SCDC-determined work. Such work may be procured through any procurement method available, and respondents to this RFI may be considered for selection to perform such work.

Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Respondents will not be notified of the result of the review, nor will they be provided copies of it.

SAP

III. GENERAL INFORMATION

The intended audiences for this RFI are service providers with experience and expertise in Inmate Telephone, Tablet, and Kiosk Systems.

The RFI schedule of events is included below. SCDC reserves the right to change the dates.

The sole point of contact for this RFI is Johanne “Jo” Sullivan, and can be reached as follows:

Johanne “Jo” Sullivan, CPPO, CPPB Procurement Manager II SC Department of Corrections 4530 Broad River Road Columbia, SC 29210

(803) 896 -0797

SULLIVAN.JOHANNE@DOC.SC.GOV

Respondents shall make no contact with other SCDC personnel, except as permitted by the point of contact, concerning this RFI.

SAP

IV. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

Emailed Responses

· Your response shall be received by email on or before the date and time of the RFI Response Due listed above. The time of receipt shall be the time recorded by the SCDC email system as received.

· Please adhere to the following convention for subject lines in emailed RFI Responses:

[Company Name]–RFI # 5400027113 Response Where [Company Name] is a recognizable short-name or acronym for the respondent’s company.

· After you send your response via email, send a separate email that states the date/time your response was emailed and list the attachments included in your original email.

General Information:

· Respondents should provide their responses in native Microsoft Office formatted documents (e.g., Microsoft Excel) or in PDF formatted documents via email to the point of contact listed above.

· In order to facilitate the review of the responses content, please provide the information in exact order and format as listed below and in the Response Spreadsheet.

· SCDC encourages respondents to focus their responses on specific information requested instead of including generalized or marketing statements and collateral unnecessarily.

Response Content:

1. Submit the Response Spreadsheet (see separate attachment). Provide your response in native Microsoft Excel format. Do not modify the Response Spreadsheet aside from inserting your information into the appropriate cells.

2. Submit your responses to the items that are color coded green in the Response Spreadsheet. Submit your response in PDF format. Use the following naming convention:

[Company Name]-[Item Number] At the top of each PDF document, List your company name and restate the Item Number and Question as listed in Response Spreadsheet. Your response to each item should not exceed one page (approximately 500 words)

V. ATTACHMENTS

The following documents are attached to this RFI:

1. Response Spreadsheet (see separate Excel document) image1.png