RFI ND_PDF Generation Replacement Software.docx

State of North Dakota North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services Economic Assistance Division 600 East Boulevard Ave.

Bismarck, ND 58505

Request For Information (RFI) Solicitation Number: 325-26-050-045 RFI Title: PDF Generation Software Date of Issue: November 6, 2026

Section 1: Overview & Instructions

1.1 Purpose

The State of North Dakota, acting through its Department of Health and Human Services, Economic Assistance Division (State), is seeking to schedule online/virtual strategy discussions with interested Suppliers that have experience in the development and support of software solutions for generating manual and digital correspondence for recipients of Economic Assistance programs and Medicaid. The desired solution must support compliance with Federal regulations and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards.

The solution should also provide business units with the ability to make text and content modifications without requiring assistance from a development team, enabling more efficient implementation of required changes.

Ideally, the proposed solution would be capable of operating in parallel with, or as an overlay to, the State’s existing solution, OpenText Exstream in order to support a phased implementation approach and help address current resource constraints associated with a full system replacement.

The purpose of these discussions is to obtain feedback from Suppliers to assist the State in developing a more accurate Scope of Work and overall strategy for a future solicitation for a comprehensive correspondence solution.

This request is for information and strategic input only and is not a solicitation for quotations, bids, or proposals. No contract award will result from this Request for Information (RFI). The State believes this process will help develop a clearer and more effective solicitation; however, participation in these discussions is entirely optional and is not required for participation in any future solicitation.

1.2 Format of Virtual Discussion

The format of these informal discussions will be performed virtually online via video conferencing tools (i.e., Zoom, Teams, Webex, etc.). The content and topics of the strategy discussions are shown in Section 3. The State is NOT requesting a formal written response to these questions or topics (as is common in most traditional RFIs). All information will be collected via the conference call/video call, which will be performed on a “1-on-1” basis between each Supplier and the State (not as a group meeting). The State anticipates spending about 1-hour on each call.

The State intends to use information gathered from these discussions to help ensure that any future solicitation is fair and open and provides the information necessary for suppliers to be able to provide accurate proposals. The State plans to schedule discussions with the first five (5) Suppliers to submit a request but reserves the right to hold additional discussions in order to capture diverse Supplier perspectives. The State shall not reimburse the Supplier for any expenses incurred responding to this RFI.

The State does not have any requirements of who can attend the meeting, or their role/position. The Supplier can select the best person(s) to attend. The meetings will be led by the Point of Contact identified in Section 4. Suppliers will be permitted 5-10 minutes to introduce their company for context. The remainder of the time will be spent discussing the Supplier’s answers to the questions provided in Section 3. Other than general procurement questions, the state will not answer any questions about the project or upcoming solicitation; however, the state will be taking note of questions to ensure that they are answered proactively in the solicitation document.

1.3 Key Dates

The RFI timetable is shown below, but the State may adjust/modify this schedule as needed.

1.4 Point of Contact

All questions, inquiries, or communications regarding this RFI or the Correspondence replacement software must be directed to the Point of Contact listed below (via email). Suppliers shall not contact any other State employee.

Alex Hennix IT Procurement Officer Department of Health and Human Services Email: ahennix@nd.gov

Section 2: Background Information

2.1 Background Information

The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Economic Assistance Unit and Medical Services Division are responsible for administering and managing Medicaid (Title XIX), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for approximately 160,000 individuals.

The Self-Service Portal and Combined Eligibility System (SPACES) is responsible for generating notices as official communications for these programs to applicants and participants, designed to inform them about eligibility decisions, benefit amounts, renewal deadlines, and changes. SPACES handles the creation of approximately 75 unique notices that are either mailed or made available electronically on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

The current software tool used to create and maintain these notices is OpenText Extreme and requires a development team to build templates and code for new notices and support any changes to language on existing notices. This creates a bottleneck in the backlog of changes due to competing priorities and the availability of resources for even simple policy/legal language changes that need to be implemented by necessary due dates.

2.2 Unique / Challenging Conditions

There are limited development resources available to support the required SPACES code changes across all programs needed to meet compliance requirements and regulatory deadlines. As a result, there is insufficient capacity to efficiently implement even minor language or content updates.

The current on-premises solution does not provide the functionality necessary for business units to independently manage and maintain notice language changes, and the product is scheduled to reach end of life in July 2028. While additional content editing functionality could be purchased, the State ultimately needs to transition to a cloud-based solution; however, current NDIT infrastructure constraints do not support that transition at this time.

Additionally, the availability of content editing functionality would not resolve the lengthy development timelines associated with creating new notices within OpenText Exstream.

Further, the existing notices currently made available to clients online in PDF format do not meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 compliance requirements, which must be achieved by April 24, 2026.

2.3 Future Goals & Outcomes

The overall goal for the creation and maintenance of client notices and correspondence is to implement a software solution that integrates with SPACES for notice generation and maintenance, while enabling DHHS Business and System Administrators to make text and content updates without requiring development resources.

A Software as Service based (SaaS-based) solution is preferred, particularly one that can leverage the existing OpenText Exstream data and functionality to support an incremental implementation approach rather than a full replacement. This phased approach would help accommodate current resource and time constraints while allowing for a complete transition prior to the July 2028 end-of-life date.

The preferred vendor solution should also be scalable and extensible so it can be leveraged across the enterprise as additional business needs arise.

In addition, the solution must be WCAG 2.1 compliant and provide streamlined capabilities for maintaining and updating notices to ensure ongoing compliance as accessibility standards evolve.

Section 3: Script for Strategy Discussions A written response to these questions is NOT required. The State will conduct virtual discussions with interested Suppliers to address these items. The supplier can prepare a presentation to assist with the discussion if they would like (but they are not required to do so).

1. To enable your firm to prepare an accurate proposal at the RFP/ITN stage, what is the most critical information for the State to provide about our Current Conditions (what critical things do you need to know about our current environment)?

2. To enable your firm to prepare an accurate proposal at the RFP/ITN stage, what is the most critical information for the State to provide about our Future State Requirements (are there any goals, objectives, or desired items that we haven’t thought of, or should consider)?

3. In general, who are the most critical 3-5 personnel (from the Supplier side) that are essential to the overall success of this program?

4. What would be the ‘best’ way for the State to collect and compare costing information from suppliers, to allow the State to compare proposals ‘apples-to-apples’. Could you provide us with an example(s) of a costing templates that you would recommend using?

5. What is an average total cost for a system to include initial system cost and ongoing support and maintenance? This is not considered a quote, nor will vendor be held to this cost in any way. The State desires to have an average for future planning.

6. What are your thoughts about a realistic timeline/schedule for a project this size?

7. Are there any other factors/issues/items the State be considering at this time?

Strategy Discussions for PDF Generation Software Response Form

Suppliers that would like to participate in the virtual discussions should complete this form to reserve a time slot. Please identify a point of contact that the State can contact to setup the virtual meeting.

Company Name

Point of Contact name

Phone number

Email Address

Please identify the preferred dates/times for the virtual call (as shown in the table below). Due to the number of Suppliers that may RSVP, please identify at least 2-3 dates/times that will work for your team (so we can try to accommodate everyone). Please RSVP as soon as possible, but not later than November 13, 2026. Timeslots will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once your timeslot is confirmed, the State will provide a link to the conference-call or video-call.

1 hour increments in CT (Central Time) November 23, 2026 Monday November 30, 2026 Monday December 7, 2026 Monday December 9, 2026 Wednesday December 14, 2026 Monday

8:00-9:00 am

9:00-10:00 am

10:00-11:00 am

11:00 am-12:00 pm

2:00-3:00 pm

Please complete and send this form via email to ahennix@nd.gov