RFP_28443-SM_Governance_Risk_and_Compliance_Tools.docx

Governance, Risk, and Compliance Tools

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Governance, Risk, and Compliance Tools

28443-SM

Issued Date: July 16, 2025 Responses Due: August 27, 2025, at 2:00 Central Time

Table of Contents

1 GENERAL INFORMATION

This section provides information about what the State intends to purchase, scope of the project and primary objectives of the solicitation.

1.1 DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this RFP and resulting Contract, words and terms shall be given their ordinary and usual meanings. Where capitalized in this RFP and resulting Contract, the following words and terms shall have the meanings indicated. The meanings shall be applicable to the singular, plural, masculine, feminine and neuter.

“Authorized User” means state agencies, political subdivisions, and municipalities authorized by state statutes to use state contracts.

“Cooperative Purchasing” means Wisconsin statutes (s. 16.73, Wis. Stats.) establish authority to allow Wisconsin municipalities to purchase from state contracts.

“Contract Administrator” the Department of Administration employee responsible for oversight of the implementation, administration, and completion of the Contract.

“Contract Manager” the employee of an Agency responsible for 1) resolving contractual matters that cannot be resolved with the Contract Administrator; and 2) facilitating and/or completing all official actions under the Contract including but not limited to amendments, renewals and termination.

“Contract” means the final version of any contractually binding agreement between the State and the Contractor relating to the subject matter of this RFP; references to the Contract include all exhibits, attachments and other documents attached thereto or incorporated therein by reference.

“Contractor” the person or entity that has been awarded the Contract as a result of this RFP, and who is required to provide equipment, materials, supplies, contractual services, or leasing real property to, the Procuring Agency.

“Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (DVB)” means a business that has been certified by the Department of Administration under §16.283, Wis. Stats.

“Effective Date” means the date the Contract has been fully executed by the Contractor and the State.

“Expected” means a State requirement should be present in the proposed solution, exactly as stated, but the lack of the requirement would not disqualify the solution. However, the lack of one or more expected requirements will reduce a solutions technical score.

“GRC” means Governance, Risk, and Compliance Tool or Platform.

“Mandatory” means a requirement labeled as such must be present in the proposed solution, exactly as stated, or the solution will not be considered by the State of Wisconsin. The terms “must,” “shall,” and “will” are considered mandatory.

“May” indicates something that is not mandatory but permissible.

“Minority Owned Business Enterprise (MBE)” means a business that has been certified by the Department of Administration under §16.287, Wis. Stats.

“Poa&M remediation” means a Plan of Action and Milestones, a document used to track and manage the remediation of identified security weaknesses or control deficiencies within an organization’s information systems.

“Procurement Manager” means the person responsible for managing this procurement process.

“Proposal” means the complete response to this RFP submitted on the approved forms, in the required manner and setting forth the Proposer’s prices for providing the products and services described in the RFP.

“Proposer” means the entity submitting a Proposal in response to this RFP.

“Responsible” means a Proposer who has furnished information and data to prove that the financial resources, service, facilities, personnel, service reputation, and experience are adequate to make satisfactory delivery of such Services and Deliverables set forth in the RFP.

“Responsive” means a proposal that conforms in all material respects to the requirements set forth in the RFP.

“RFP” means this Request for Proposal.

“State Holidays” means January 1, Martin Luther King Jr. birthday, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, December 24, December 25, and December 31

1.2 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

The State of Wisconsin (State) as represented by the Department of Administration is seeking proposals for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Tools.

The State of Wisconsin intends to use the results of this solicitation to award a contract for an Enterprise GRC solution. The awarded Proposer is a Contractor.

The State makes no express or implied warranties whatsoever that any particular quantity or dollar amount of Services will be procured. The State reserves the right to cancel this RFP for any reason prior to the issuance of a notice of intent to award.

1.3 SCOPE OF WORK

The State of Wisconsin is seeking innovative ideas to provide consultation, planning, conceptual design, roadmap definition, and app modernization and support services in a way that is sustainable and that makes best use of tax-payer funding. The State of Wisconsin is seeking innovative solutions to determine: The resulting Contract will be available for mandatory use by Executive Branch agencies (collectively “Authorized User”). The goal of the contract is to implement an Enterprise GRC solution that will:

1) Manage state agencies authorization of information systems. Document the granting of authorizations including Authority to Operate (ATO) and Authority to Use (ATU), by agency’s Authorizing Official (AO) as they accept the risk of operations of assessed systems.

a. Authorizations involve comprehensive identification, selection, implementation, testing, and evaluation of security controls of information systems.

b. Address software and hardware security safeguards;

c. considers procedural, physical, and personnel security measures; and

d. establishes the extent to which a particular design (or architecture), configuration, and implementation meets a specified set of security requirements throughout the life cycle of the information system.

2) Streamline policy, compliance, risk management, auditing, incident management, and vendor oversight processes.

3) Address internationally recognized security controls.

a. NIST, ISO, PCI-DSS, CJIS, HIPAA, CIS, FISMA, among others

4) Support federal legislation and state statutes.

a. IRS-Publication 1075, CMS ARC-AMPE, SSA, FBI, FERPA, FEDRamp, among others

b. Subchapter VII (Wis. Stats. 16.97 to 16.979)

c. Subchapter IX (Wis. Stats. 16.99 to 16.998)

5) Align with the implementation and adherence with Executive Branch Security Policies and Standards. DET Policies and Standards

6) Provide robust reporting and metrics at various levels of the enterprise.

1.3.1 Background

Currently, the State of Wisconsin does not utilize a GRC Platform. Each agency employs multiple tools and manual processes and procedures specifically tailored to address the security requirements of their respective operating model, leading to inefficiencies and difficulties in maintaining a unified risk and compliance posture. However, the State of Wisconsin operates in a highly regulated environment, requiring robust systems for managing compliance, assessing risks, and ensuring governance across various departments.

1.3.2 Existing Interfaces

The solution will be required to work with the following interfaces in the exact manner described below.

· ServiceNow (ITSM and CMDB)

· SolarWinds

· The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) provides two RSS 1.0 data feeds

· The Unified Compliance Framework

· https://www.unifiedcompliance.com/home

· Riskonnect

· Splunk

· Tenable IO

· Ability to ingest OSCAL package

· Ability to export security authorization package documentation (i.e. SAP, SSP, SAR, POA&M) into OSCAL-compliant XML or JSON

· Okta

· Crowdstrike

· Azure DevOps

· Jira

· Github

· O365, SharePoint, PowerBI

The solution will need to be able to pull data from these sources along with the ability to import data from other sources such as Excel spreadsheets, csv files among others.

1.4 Project Objectives

1.4.1 Business Objectives

· Risk Management Improvement: Enhance the ability to identify, assess, assign, and mitigate risks effectively.

· Regulatory Compliance: Meet industry-specific compliance standards

· Governance Framework Implementation: Standardize policies, procedures, and controls across the organization.

· Audit Management: Streamline internal and external audit processes, including documentation, risk ownership, and reporting.

· Operational Efficiency: Reduce manual processes and improve the efficiency of GRC tasks through automation.

1.4.2 Organizational Requirements

· Scalability: The tool should support the current size of the organization and be capable of scaling.

· Flexibility: The tool must be adaptable to various frameworks and allow customization to meet unique business needs.

· Integration Capabilities: Ensure seamless integration with existing systems.

· Ease of Use: User-friendly interface and ease of navigation to encourage adoption by users with different technical skills.

· Cloud vs. On-Premises: Define whether a cloud-based, on-premises, or hybrid solution best fits security and data requirements based on Wisconsin’s unique needs.

1.4.3 Functional Requirements (Minimum requirements)

· Risk Management Features:

· Risk assessment and analysis tools

· Risk scoring, prioritization, and downgrading due to the presence of mitigating controls

· Risk ownership, and tracking from risk finding through remediation

· Real-time risk monitoring and reporting

· Categorize systems and common control providers

· Selection of Security Controls

· Implementation of Security Controls and Frameworks

· Assess organizations, systems, and common control providers

· Authorize organizations, systems, and common control providers

· Continuous Monitoring of Security Controls

· Generation of project artifacts - Plan of Action, Milestones, Burndown Chart, etc

· System Security Plans

· System Description

· Roles and Contacts

· System diagrams (boundary, network, data flow, and directionality)

· Ports, Protocols, and Services

· System Interconnections including services, subsystems, and components

· Selected Baselines and Frameworks

· Inventory

· Control Status

· Compliance Management:

· Policy and procedure management

· Automated compliance checks and alerts

· Compliance tracking and reporting

· Audit Management:

· Audit planning and scheduling

· Automated evidence collection

· Issue tracking and remediation

· Incident Management:

· CSIRT incident response process management - tool facilitates management of IR process from Event Generation to Lessons Learned

· Root cause analysis

· Reporting and documentation

· Policy Management:

· Policy creation, review, and approval workflows

· Dashboard:

· Enterprise Dashboard across organizations, systems, and common control providers

· Operation Dashboard for individual organizations, systems, and common control providers with agency specific data isolation and role-based access.

· Generate a dashboard to report on a single or all package statuses

· Notify internal and external stakeholders of changes, status updates, and other important notifications.

· Assign a task or package to an internal or external stakeholder with notification.

· Collaboration:

· Automate workflow processes

· Integrate with automated validation rules to enable pass/fail automated review and generate reports to users.

· Enable simultaneous reviews.

· Enable users on review teams to track notes and rationale for review.

· Track package progress (e.g. schedule, performance, etc.).

· Access previous versions of a package.

· Facilitate and track updates by external stakeholders.

· Import or manage diagrams in PDFs and search keywords within them.

The scope of the RFP will include optional GRC Tool Implementation Support. However, professional services are not included in the funding the state received to implement this software, so agencies may choose to implement on their own.

1.5 PROCURING AND CONTRACTING AGENCY

This RFP is issued by the Department of Administration, which is the sole point of contact for the State during the selection process. The person responsible for managing the procurement process is Susanne Matschull, IS Comprehensive Services Specialist.

The Contract resulting from this RFP shall be administered by the Department of Administration. The Department of Administration/State Bureau of Procurement employee serving as the Contract Administrator shall be determined at the time of contract negotiations.

1.6 CLARIFICATIONS AND/OR REVISIONS TO THE SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

If a Proposer discovers any significant ambiguity, error, conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other deficiency in this RFP, the Proposer should immediately notify Susanne Matschull at Susanne.matschull@wisconsin.gov via email (no phone calls).

In the event that it becomes necessary to provide additional clarifying data or information, or to revise any part of this RFP, addendums or amendments will be provided via Wisconsin eSupplier Portal.

Proposers are encouraged to log into the RFP website on Wisconsin eSupplier Portal periodically during the RFP process. The person who is registered for the Proposer on Wisconsin eSupplier Portal should get an email any time a change is made to the website. However, this only applies to the person who is registered on Wisconsin eSupplier Portal on the date that the RFP is released. Anyone who registers after the release date of the RFP will not receive any automatic emails from Wisconsin eSupplier Portal for this RFP.

1.7 STATE OF WISCONSIN POINT OF CONTACT AND CONTACT WITH STATE EMPLOYEES

From the date of release of this RFP until contract execution, all contacts with State of Wisconsin personnel regarding this RFP shall be made through Susanne Matschull, IS Comp Services Specialist, Department of Administration via email (direct or through the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal) only at Susanne.matschull@wisconsin.gov.

No phone calls, emails or other correspondence to other State staff regarding this procurement are permitted during the procurement process unless otherwise noted in writing as required as part of the solicitation process. Violation of these conditions may be considered sufficient cause for automatic rejection of a Proposal. All oral communications are unofficial and non-binding on the State. Proposers shall rely only on written statements issued by the Procurement Manager.

1.8 NEWS RELEASES

A Proposer may not issue news releases or make any statements to the news media pertaining to the subject of this RFP or any Proposals or Contracts resulting therefrom without the prior written approval of Department of Administration. The Proposer is bound by this clause from the time the RFP is issued until the time the Contract has expired. Release of broadcast emails pertaining to this procurement shall not be made without prior written authorization of Department of Administration.

1.9 VENDOR CONFERENCE; QUESTIONS

There will not be a Vendor Conference. Instead, there is an opportunity for Proposer questions to be submitted for a State response (see Calendar of Events for dates).

All questions must be submitted in writing via e-mail to Susanne Matschull at Susanne.matschull@wisconsin.gov by the deadline. Proposer questions along with the State’s responses shall be posted to the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal website.

1.10 REASONABLE ACCOMODATIONS

The Department of Administration shall provide reasonable accommodation, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, for individuals with disabilities upon request. If you need accommodations at a presentation or demonstration, contact Susanne Matschull at (Susanne.matschull@wisconsin.gov).

1.11 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Listed below are important dates and times by which actions related to this RFP shall be completed. In the event that the State finds it necessary to change any of these dates and times, it shall do so by issuing an amendment to this RFP.

1.12 CONTRACT TERM AND FUNDING

The Contract period shall be an initial three (3) years from the effective date. The Contract is eligible for four (4) possible additional one-year renewals if mutually agreeable to the State and the Contractor, unless terminated. To ensure the delivery of improved services and competitive pricing, to address potential performance issues, changes in technology or industry consolidation, the State reserves the right to negotiate the pricing and terms at the time of contract renewal.

As required by Wisconsin Statutes, continuance of a Contract beyond the limits of funds available shall be contingent upon appropriation of the necessary funds, and the termination of the Contract by lack of appropriations shall be without penalty.

1.13 COOPERATIVE PURCHASING

Commodities and services may be made available to Municipalities upon agreement of the Contractor. Where requested by the State, and agreed to by the Contractor(s), Municipalities shall be able to obtain the commodities and services procured under the Contract at the same rates agreed to by the Procuring Agency and the Contractor. The Contractor shall be responsible for confirming the status of potential Municipalities with the Procuring Agency and providing appropriate documentation and support and reporting Contract usage by Municipalities.

1.14 WISCONSIN eSUPPLIER PORTAL REGISTRATION

Only Proposers registered with the State of Wisconsin’s eSupplier Portal (the State’s electronic purchasing information system) will receive future official notice for this service/commodity. The State of Wisconsin purchasing information and Proposer/proposer notification service is available to all businesses and organizations that want to sell to the State. Anyone may access the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal on the Internet at Link to get information on state purchasing practices and policies, goods and services that the State buys, and tips on selling to the State. Proposers may use the same Web site address for inclusion on the Proposers list for goods and services that the organization wants to sell to the State. A subscription with notification guarantees the organization will receive an e-mail message each time a State agency, including any campus of the University of Wisconsin System, posts a request for bid or a request for proposal in their designated commodity/service area(s) with an estimated value over $50,000. Organizations without internet access receive paper copies in the mail. Increasingly, State agencies also are using Wisconsin eSupplier Portal to post simplified bids valued at $50,000 or less. Proposers also may receive e-mail notices of these simplified bid opportunities.

2 PREPARING AND SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL

This section explains how the proposal should be constructed and on what terms before it can be considered responsive.

2.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The evaluation and selection of a Contractor will be based on the information submitted in the Proposal plus references, and any required presentations, on-site visits, or oral interviews. Failure to respond to each of the requirements as directed in the RFP may be the basis for rejecting a response.

Elaborate Proposals (e.g., expensive artwork, marketing materials) beyond that sufficient to present a complete and effective Proposal are not necessary or desired.

2.2 INCURRING COSTS

The State shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by Proposer to prepare its Proposal, conduct its due diligence or negotiate any agreements whether or not finally awarded. Such Proposal and business development costs shall not be included in the cost basis of services to be provided to the State.

2.3 COMPLETE RESPONSES

Proposal responses to each of the requests for information and requirements in the numbered sections shall be in the same sequence and numbered as the RFP. Responses must be concise yet complete. Do not simply restate the Requirement verbatim as the response to a Requirement. If the RFP calls for a process description, include a process map as well as the frequency at which that map will be updated. Proposer shall not direct the reader to a website (or any other sources outside of the submitted Proposal) as part of its response to the requirement or question.

2.4 SUBMITTING THE PROPOSAL

Proposers have three (3) options in responding to this RFP.

2.4.1 WISCONSIN eSUPPLIER PORTAL SUBMITTAL (STRONGLY PREFERRED) Respond as directed herein and in the pages presented in the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal for this event. The State has developed questions that you will be prompted with online to guide your electronic response to the RFP. If you respond electronically, you do not need to submit a mailed copy of any materials unless you are directed to do so elsewhere in the RFP document.

Please note, Proposers must click "Submit" in the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal to have their Proposal received. Only clicking "Save" does not submit the Proposal response; therefore, it shall not be received or reviewed.

Certain requirements, qualifications and Specifications shall be presented as itemized questions that require an affirmative response from the Bidder that indicate these can be met (i.e. “yes/no” prompt; drop down menu; required attachment). Other requirements may be presented in a grouped manner (e.g. “Does your company meet requirements 2.1-2.8”). For any (itemized or grouped) requirements that cannot be met, a “no” shall be checked and a supplemental document shall be provided as an attachment to explain.

Proposer submitting a response via the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal shall follow the instructions given in the eSupplier Portal system, including any Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Proposers shall allow time for entering a Proposal Response in eSupplier. Keep in mind the following if an error occurs:

button and receive verification that the Proposer response has been submitted. Only clicking "Save" does not submit the Proposal response; therefore, it shall not be received or reviewed.

2.4.2 HARD COPY PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

Proposers still have the option to mail or otherwise provide a hard copy Proposal when responding to this RFP. If your company elects to do so (instead of the electronic proposal option described above), Proposer shall submit an original and one electronic version compatible with the Microsoft Office standard desktop tools, on a CD of all materials required for acceptance of its Proposal by the deadline shown below. The State is not responsible for deliveries that do not reach the Bureau of Procurement office by the required due date and time. While hard copy (paper) proposals will still be allowed in response to the Portal’s sourcing events, the State has no liability for errors made in inputting any information submitted via a paper proposal.

The Cost Proposal shall be sealed and submitted as a separate part of the Proposal. No mention data within the Cost Proposal is permissible in the response to any other section of the Proposal. All materials required for acceptance of the Proposal by the deadline must be sent to:

Proposals shall be received by the above office no later than 2:00 p.m. CT on August 28, 2025. All Proposals shall be date and time-stamped in by the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal (electronic) or by the Department of Administration (hard copy) on or prior to the stated opening date and time. Proposals not so stamped will be considered late and rejected. Receipt of a Proposal by the State mail system does not constitute receipt of a Proposal by the PROCURING AGENCY.

All Proposals shall be packaged, sealed and show the following information on the outside of the package:

Note: Proposers who plan on submitting via hard copy should contact Susanne Matschull, Susanne.matschull@wisconsin.gov ahead of time to expect a hard copy submittal.

2.4.3 COST PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Electronic Cost Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the online instruction in the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal.

For hard copy proposal submissions, Proposers shall submit an original plus one (1) hard copy (total of 2) and one (1) electronic version in Microsoft Excel, on a CD. PDF documents are not permitted for the Cost Proposal.

The Cost Proposal shall be sealed and submitted as a separate part of the Proposal. No mention of the Cost Proposal is permissible in the response to any other section of the RFP. The outside of the envelope must be clearly labeled on the outside of the package as follows:

The Cost Proposal shall be packaged, addressed and sealed in the same manner as described above. The Cost Proposal is due to the addressee on the same date and time previously mentioned. The electronic Cost Proposal shall be an individual file on the CD.

Faxed and e-mailed Proposals are not accepted.

Proposals that arrive unpackaged or unsealed shall not be accepted.

2.4.4 HAND DELIVERED PROPOSALS

If proposer desires to hand-deliver bid, please notify Susanne Matschull in advance via email at Susanne.Matscull@wisconsin.gov. The Department of Administration, at 101 E. Wilson St. in Madison, has a security checkpoint at the first-floor lobby. All visitors will be required to provide current identification and sign in for a visitor's pass. Security personnel will call Susanne Matschull to escort the visitor to their destination in the DOA building. The Proposer shall allow ample time to clear security before reaching the Bureau of Procurement office to obtain the required Bid timestamp.

The State is not responsible for deliveries that do not reach the Bureau of Procurement office by the required due date and time. The Proposal due date and time will not be adjusted to accommodate tardiness, nor will any exceptions to the due date and time be made.

Note: Proposers who plan on submitting hand delivered proposals should contact Susanne Matschull, Susanne.matschull@wisconsin.gov ahead of time to expect a hard copy submittal.

2.4.5 EMAILED OR FAXED PROPOSALS

Proposals submitted via email or fax will NOT be accepted.

2.4.6 BUILDING SECURITY POLICY

The Department of Administration has established building security policies and procedures at 101 E. Wilson Street, Madison, WI 53703. There is a security checkpoint in the first-floor lobby. All visitors are required to provide current identification and sign in for a visitor’s pass. Security personnel will call the intended state employee prior to the visitor proceeding to their destination in the Department of Administration building.

This policy will affect the timing for hand-deliveries of bids, proposals and other time-sensitive packages. However, properly credentialed package delivery couriers (e.g. UPS, FedEx, etc.) will proceed without obtaining a pass. If you intend to hand-deliver your bid or proposal, please plan additional time to account for the security process to be completed. Packages cannot be date/time stamped at the security desk on the lobby level and security personnel will not sign for deliveries; the package must be date/time stamped by the office identified in the bid/proposal. The bid due date and time will not be adjusted to accommodate tardiness, nor will any exceptions to the due date and time be made. The State is not responsible for deliveries that do not reach their destination by the required due date and time.

2.5 HARD COPY PROPOSAL ORGANIZATION AND FORMAT

Proposers responding to this RFP outside of the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal must comply with the following format requirements. The State reserves the right to exclude any responses from consideration that do not follow the required format as instructed below.

Proposals shall be organized and presented in the order and by the numbers assigned in the RFP with each heading and subheading separated by tabs or otherwise clearly marked and labeled.

A Proposal shall be typed and submitted on 8.5 by 11 inch paper bound securely. Binders are not required. The Proposal cover page must include, at a minimum, the RFP name and number, and the Proposer’s name.

Unless specifically requested, promotional literature is not desired and will not be considered to meet any of the requirements of this RFP.

Only information that can be identified as a trade secret, proprietary and confidential on required form PROCURING AGENCY-3027 will be treated as such. Proposer shall not label or identify their entire Proposal as confidential.

Tab 1 - Table of Contents: Provide a table of contents for the Proposal submitted.

Tab 2 - Transmittal Letter: Provide a transmittal letter that clearly identifies all of the following:

1. Proposer’s organization information Name and title of Proposer representative; and Name and address of company; and Telephone number, fax number, and email address.

2. A confirmation of Acknowledge the receipt of RFP addenda; if none has been posted, include a statement to that effect; and

3. A statement acknowledging the Proposal conforms to all requirements of the State including procurement rules and procedures articulated in this RFP; and

4. A statement that (Proposer’s Name) understands and agrees that it has an affirmative duty to inquire about and seek clarification of any question or other item in the RFP that Proposer does not fully understand or that Proposer reasonably believes is susceptible to more than one interpretation; and

5. A statement that the Proposer's organization or an agent of the Proposer's organization has arrived at the prices and discounts without consultation, communication or agreement with any other respondent or with any competitor for the purpose of restricting competition; and

6. A statement that it has not paid, and shall not pay, any bonus, commission, fee or gratuity to any employee or official of the State for the purpose of obtaining any Contract or award issued by the State. The Proposer shall further warrant that no officer or employee of the State has any direct or indirect financial or personally beneficial interest in the subject matter of the awarded Contract, and no obligation or contract for future award of compensation has been proposed as an inducement or consideration for making the awarded Contract. Subsequent discovery by the State of non-compliance with these provisions shall constitute sufficient cause for immediate termination of all outstanding Contracts; and

7. A statement that no attempt has been made or shall be made by the Proposer or by any agent of the Proposer to induce any other person or firm to submit or not submit an Proposal for the purpose of restricting competition; and

8. A statement that the individual signing the Proposal is authorized to make decisions as to the prices quoted and that she/he has not participated and will not participate in any action contrary to the RFP; and

9. A statement that (Proposer’s Name) hereby represents and warrants it has analyzed the State’s RFP, understands the State’s requirements and agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of the Proposal for 180 days after the submission deadline, or longer if the Proposal is included in a Contract with the State; and

10. A statement that (Proposer’s Name) is an expert in the types of services, functions and tasks proposed in the RFP and understands that the State shall rely on this expertise; and

11. A statement that (Proposer’s Name) shall make a number of representations outside of its formal Proposal document in discussions, presentations, negotiations, demonstrations, sales or reference material and other information-providing interactions. (Proposer’s Name) hereby warrants that the State can rely on these as inducements into any subsequent Contract and be made a part thereof.

Tab 3 - RFP Cover Sheet and Required Forms: Include here the following completed and signed forms:

If applicable, check the appropriate box indicating that Proposal is being submitted by a Wisconsin-certified MBE or DVB on the RFP Cover Sheet.

Tab 4 – Attachment B Mandatory Contract Performance Requirements Provide a point-by-point response to each requirement specified in Section 4 of the RFP. Responses to requirements must be in the same sequence and numbered as they appear in the RFP.

Tab 5 - Mandatory Proposer Qualification and Administrative Documentation Requirements Provide the information and documentation specified in Section 5 and 6 of this RFP. Responses to requirements must be in the same sequence and numbered as they appear in the RFP. Include all required documentation.

Tab 6 – Functional System Requirements Compliance Matrix: In Attachment C: Functional Specifications Compliance Matrix, provide a point-by-point response to each requirement specified in Attachment C: Functional System Compliance Matrix Requirements.

Tab 7 - Response to General Requirements: Provide a point-by-point response to each requirement specified in Section 7 of the RFP. Responses to requirements must be in the same sequence and numbered as they appear in the RFP.

Tab 8 - Response to Technical Requirements: Provide a point-by-point response to each requirement specified in Section 8 of the RFP. Responses to requirements must be in the same sequence and numbered as they appear in the RFP.

Tab 9 - Contract Terms and Conditions: The attachment provided with the RFP represents the Contract terms and conditions which the State expects to execute with each successful Proposer(s). The Proposer must respond to the provisions contained in this document according to the instructions provided.

The Proposer may not submit its own contract document as a substitute for these terms and conditions. Proposer responses to provisions shall be consistent with its response to all other sections of this RFP.

Tab 10 – Security Rider Terms and Conditions: The attachment provided with the RFP represents the Contract terms and conditions which the State expects to execute with each successful Proposer(s). The Proposer must respond to the provisions contained in this document according to the instructions provided.

The Proposer may not submit its own contract document as a substitute for these terms and conditions. Proposer responses to provisions shall be consistent with its response to all other sections of this RFP.

Under Separate Cover - Cost Proposal: Provide cost information as directed in Section 9. Include all costs for furnishing the product(s) and/or service(s) included in this Proposal. Failure to provide any requested information in the prescribed format may result in disqualification of the Proposal. No mention of the Cost Proposal is permissible in the response to any other section of the RFP.

2.6 PRESENTATIONS; DEMONSTRATIONS

Top scoring Proposer(s) based on an evaluation of the written Proposal may be required to participate in a presentation and/or Demonstration to support and clarify Proposal(s), if requested by the State. The presentations and/or Demonstrations will be scheduled and held after receipt of the Proposals to provide an opportunity for the Proposer to clarify its Proposal and for the evaluation committee to ask questions. Proposer representative(s) attending the oral presentation or demonstration shall be technically qualified to respond to questions related to the Proposal and its components. The State will furnish specific details concerning the presentations or demonstrations and any required materials at the time it notifies Proposers of the presentation schedule.

The State shall make every reasonable attempt to schedule each presentation at a time and location agreeable to the Proposer. The State requires that those individuals designated by the Proposer as Key Personnel attend the presentation in person. Failure of a Proposer to interview or permit a site visit on the date scheduled may result in rejection of its Proposal.

2.7 MULTIPLE PROPOSALS

Multiple Proposals from a Proposer will be permissible; however, each Proposal must conform fully to the requirements for proposal submission. Each such Proposal must be submitted separately and clearly labeled as Proposal #1, Proposal #2, etc. on each page included in the response.

2.8 WITHDRAWL OF PROPOSALS

The Proposal shall be irrevocable until Contract award unless the Proposal is withdrawn. A Proposer may withdraw a Proposal in writing at any time up to the Proposal closing date and time or upon expiration of 180 days after the due date and time if received by the Procurement Manager. To accomplish this, the written request must be signed by an authorized representative of the Proposer and submitted to the Procurement Manager. If a previously submitted Proposal is withdrawn before the Proposal due date and time, the Proposer may submit another Proposal at any time up to the Proposal closing date and time.

2.9 LATE PROPOSALS

Any responses received after the hour specified in Section 2.4 SUBMITTING THE PROPOSAL shall not be reviewed.

3 PROPOSAL SELECTION AND AWARD PROCESS

This section explains how proposals will be accepted, evaluated, and how the State will engage in negotiations if it opts to do so.

3.1 PRELIMINARY EVALUATION

All Proposals will be reviewed initially to determine if Proposal submission requirements are met (see RFP Section 2.0, Preparing and Submitting a Proposal). Failure to meet a Proposal submission requirement may result in the rejection of the Proposal.

In the event there is an individual mandatory requirement that no Proposer is able to meet, the State reserves the right to eliminate that individual mandatory requirement; in such case, the State shall continue the evaluation of Proposals and select the Proposal that most closely meets the remaining requirements specified in the RFP.

3.2 EVALUATION COMMITTEE

An evaluation committee for this RFP shall consist of individuals who, in the State’s sole judgment, possess specific knowledge and skills essential to the RFP evaluation. The evaluation committee participates fully in the evaluation process, including reviewing and scoring Proposals. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) may be used to provide additional expertise (e.g. technical and functional subject matter expertise, administrative and procurement knowledge) to the evaluation committee. SMEs are a non-scoring individuals or ad/hoc group that serves only as technical advisors to the evaluation committee.

3.3 ACCEPTED PROPOSALS

An evaluation committee will evaluate and score all accepted Proposals against predetermined criteria. A uniform selection process, as outlined in this section, will be used to evaluate all Proposals using a point system. Proposers are advised that responses to requirements should clearly and completely describe how its services and products will meet those requirements. Failure to demonstrate in the Proposal response that the Proposer can meet the requirements stated may cause the rejection of the Proposal.

The committee may review references, request presentations and demonstrations, and use those results in scoring the Proposals. Evaluation and selection of the Contractor, as well as any subsequent negotiations, will be based on the information submitted in the Proposals, references, requested presentations, and product and service demonstrations.

The State reserves the right to obtain additional information concerning any Proposer or Subcontractor associated with or named in the response to this RFP and to consider this information in evaluating the Proposer's Proposal.

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

Accepted Proposals shall be reviewed by the evaluation committee and scored against the stated criteria. Proposers shall not contact any member of an evaluation committee. Evaluation points given by each evaluator shall be summed and divided by the number of evaluators to compute an average score for each Proposal. Cost Proposal information shall not be available to the Evaluation Committee during the requirements evaluation phase.

Proposals will be scored in the following areas.

The points stated above are the maximum amount awarded for each category.

The results of oral presentations or demonstrations (if required) shall be used to clarify and substantiate information in the written Proposals and may be considered when scoring the responses to the general and technical requirements in the RFP. Reference checks will be used to substantiate information in the written proposals. The reference check results may be considered when scoring the responses to the general and technical requirements in the RFP.

Cost Proposal Cost Proposals will be scored as follows:

The lowest cost Proposal based on the sample scenario shall receive the maximum number of points available for the cost score. Other Cost Proposals shall receive prorated scores based on the lowest cost Proposal.

The formula would be as follows:

Lowest Total Cost Proposal (constant) x Maximum points given to cost = Cost score Proposer’s Total Cost Proposal (Proposal being scored is denominator)

General, Technical, and Cost Score Total The final average points received from a Proposal’s General Requirements and Technical Requirements will be subtotaled and added to the final Cost Proposal score. In the event of a best and final, only those Proposers in the best and final process will be included in the calculation.

The final total score (General, Technical, and Cost) may be weighted per RFP Section XX.

3.5 SUPPLIER DIVERSITY

Proposals from certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) or Disabled Veteran-owned Businesses (DVB) may have points weighted by a factor of 1.00 to 1.05 to provide up to a five percent (5%) preference to these businesses (s. 16.75 (3m), Wis. Stats., 2001-02).

3.5.1 MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

Minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) are certified by the Wisconsin Department of Administration. This program can be found at: http://www.doa.wi.gov/Divisions/Enterprise -Operations/Supplier-Diversity- Program.

The Contractor shall furnish appropriate quarterly information about its efforts, including the identities of such businesses certified by the Wisconsin Supplier Diversity Program, their contract amount, and spend for each period to the Procuring Agency.

A listing of certified MBEs, as well as the services and commodities they provide, is available at: https://wisdp.wi.gov/search.aspx.

3.5.2 VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS

The State Bureau of Procurement encourages the participation of veteran-owned businesses (VBs) in the statewide purchasing program by inviting VBs to actively solicit public purchasing business and by reducing undue impediments to such participation. VBs are certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Applicants shall complete a Veteran-owned Business Request for Certification form (WDVA 1037). Contact the DVA at: http://dva.state.wi.us. There is no price preference for certified VBs that compete for State Contracts.

3.5.3 DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS

Disabled veteran-owned businesses (DVBs) are certified by the Wisconsin Department of Administration. This program can be found at: http://www.doa.wi.gov/Divisions/Enterprise-Operations/Supplier-Diversity-Program.

The Supplier/Contractor shall furnish appropriate quarterly information about its efforts, including the identities of such businesses certified by the Supplier Diversity Program and their Contract amount.

A listing of certified DVBs, as well as the services and commodities they provide, is available at: https://wisdp.wi.gov/search.aspx.

3.5.4 WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

Woman-owned business enterprises (WBEs) are certified by the Wisconsin Department of Administration. This program can be found at: http://www.doa.wi.gov/Divisions/Enterprise-Operations/Supplier-Diversity-Program.

State certified WBEs are able to provide both governmental entities and private companies with a credible recognition of the business' ownership. The WBE certification may serve as an additional marketing tool when seeking contract opportunities with entities that place a value on having a diverse supplier base. There is no price preference for certified WBEs that compete for State Contracts.

A listing of certified WBEs, as well as the services and commodities they provide, is available at: https://wisdp.wi.gov/search.aspx.

3.6 RIGHT TO REJECT PROPOSALS

The State reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.

3.7 AWARD AND FINAL OFFERS

The State shall compile the final scores for each responsive Proposal. Multiple awards will be granted in one of two ways. The awards may be granted to the highest scoring responsive and responsible Proposer(s).

Alternatively, the highest scoring Proposer(s) may be requested to submit best and final offers (BAFO). If a BAFO is requested by the State and submitted by Proposer(s), they shall be evaluated against the stated criteria, scored and ranked by the evaluation committee. Multiple awards then may be granted to the highest scoring Proposer(s). However, Proposers shall not expect that the State shall request a best and final offer.

3.8 CONTRACT NEGOTIATION

The State intends to enter into Contract negotiations with the Proposer(s) who has been determined by the evaluation committee to be the highest scoring Proposer(s), calculated as outlined in Section 3. The State may negotiate the terms of the Contract, including the price, with the highest scoring Proposer(s) prior to entering into a Contract. If the Contract negotiations cannot be concluded successfully with the highest scoring Proposer(s), the State may negotiate a Contract with the next highest scoring Proposer.

The contractual terms and conditions in State Terms and Conditions, of the RFP are part of the Contract between a Contractor and the State. These terms and conditions are not all-inclusive, and the State reserves the right to incorporate additional provisions in the Contract.

3.9 CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS IMPASSE

If a Contract between the State and the successful Proposer cannot be executed by both parties within sixty (60) Days after the notice of intent to award the Contract (or the conclusion of an appeal of the award under Ch. ADMIN 10, Wis. Adm. Code, whichever is later), the State reserves the right to unilaterally reject the Proposer's Proposal and proceed to award the Contract to the next highest scoring Proposer.

3.10 NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO AWARD

Any Proposer who responds with a Proposal shall be notified in writing of…