RFP2026 001G-RFP_2026 001G_BUF_08142026.pdf

State of Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance Request for Proposals

Green Fee Outcomes Framework & Monitoring/Evaluation Dashboard

RFP 2026-001G

Issued August 14, 2026

I. OVERVIEW

A. Background B. Purpose C. Authority D. Procurement Officer and Contract Administrator E. Procurement Timetable F. Communications with BUF G. Submission of Proposals H. Receipt, Opening and Recording of Proposals; Late Proposals I. Best and Final Offer (BAFO) J. Mistakes in Proposals K. Costs for Proposal Preparation L. Disqualification of Proposals M. RFP Amendments and Addendum N. Cancellation of Request for Proposals/Rejections of Proposals O. Uncertainties Beyond the Control of BUF P. Proposal Bonds; Performance and/or Payment Bonds Q. Acceptance of Proposal and Execution of Contract R. Debriefing S. Protest Procedures T. Requirements for Doing Business in the State of Hawaii

II. SCOPE OF WORK

A. Introduction B. Timeline & Project Lifespan C. Scope of Work and Guidelines D. Phase III: Long-Term Legacy & Self-Updating Framework E. Deliverables F. Payment Schedule (Deliverables-Based)

III. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

A. Overview of Minimum Requirements B. Cover Letter C. Confidential or Proprietary Information D. Liability Insurance

IV. PROPOSAL EVALUATION

A. Introduction B. Evaluation Process C. Evaluation Criteria D. Evaluation Criteria Points E. Organizational Criteria F. Key Personnel Qualifications Criteria G. Technical Qualifications Criteria H. Phase 1 – Evaluation of Mandatory Requirements I. Phase 2 – Establishment of Priority List of Offerors J. Phase 3 – Interviews with Priority-Listed Offerors K. Phase 4 – Final Evaluation of Proposals L. Phase 5 – Award

I. OVERVIEW

A. Background The State of Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance (BUF), headed by the Director of Finance, is a central executive department responsible for managing the State’s multi-billion-dollar operating and capital budgets, developing short-term and long-term financial plans, overseeing state bonds, and managing state investments.

In addition to financial planning, BUF houses crucial oversight and public entities including the attached agencies such as The Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), The Office of the Public Defender, and Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF).

B. Purpose

Hawai‘i’s Green Fee refers to the additional tax revenues created by Act 96, Session Laws of Hawai‘i 2025 (Act 96), that are to be used for environmental stewardship, climate and hazard resilience, and sustainable tourism. Act 250, Session Laws of Hawai‘i 2025, as amended by Act 175, Session Laws of Hawai‘i 2026, and their accompanying legislative budget worksheets, appropriate amounts for over 90 Green Fee projects across multiple state departments. These are listed in Attachment A.

The State of Hawaii seeks a qualified contractor to develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan for Green Fee–funded projects and to develop a public‑facing dashboard or equivalent information tool accessible via a website to showcase these M&E metrics, and to include additional storytelling and strategic impact information on Green Fee Projects.

The Green Fee is likely to continue funding additional projects each year. A transparent, accessible reporting system is needed to demonstrate how these green fee investments advance climate resilience and community benefit, consistent with the objectives in Act

96. In addition, information related to why Green Fee projects are important to Hawaii is needed for the public to understand the collective impact of these projects.

The public-facing dashboard should go beyond reporting basic metrics by incorporating storytelling elements—such as project narratives, community context, and visually engaging explanations of progress—to help the public understand not only what each Green Fee project is doing, but why it matters and how it contributes to Hawaii’s broader climate resilience goals.

The goals of the dashboard are to:

• Demonstrate the impact of Green Fee investments to the State and how these investments collectively make Hawaii more resilient.

• Strengthen accountability for Green Fee funding, including information on where and how funds are being used and what the outcomes are.

The dashboard will be public-facing and may inform future policy decisions around Green Fee funding.

The selected contractor will:

• Consult with State stakeholders, including BUF, the Office of the Governor, administering departments, Green Fee project leads, and other parties designated by BUF, to establish a statewide monitoring and evaluation structure for Green Fee projects

• Develop or leverage an existing platform to create a public-facing dashboard (or equivalent) accessible via a website that can be independently maintained and updated to showcase M&E metrics, as well as storytelling elements to help the public understand the strategic impact of these projects and why they matter to the State.

• Provide training and support to Green Fee awardees and relevant stakeholders so that they understand the M&E plan and can report project metrics through the dashboard.

• Implement communications and outreach efforts to promote public awareness, accessibility, and engagement with the dashboard, including gathering information from stakeholders to create storytelling content and uploading it to the dashboard.

C. Authority

This RFP is issued under the provisions of 103D-303, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), and the implementing Administrative Rules. All prospective offerors are charged with presumptive knowledge of all requirements of the cited authorities. Submission of a valid executed proposal by any prospective Offeror shall constitute a representation of such knowledge on the part of such prospective Offeror.

D. Procurement Officer and Contract Administrator This RFP is issued by the State of Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance. The Procurement Officer and Contract Administrator for this procurement are identified below. All procurement communications shall be directed through HIePRO (https://hiepro.ehawaii.gov) unless this RFP expressly provides otherwise.

Cynthia Morita, Fiscal Officer (Procurement Officer) Sabrina Nasir, BPPM Administrator (Contract Administrator)

State of Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance No. 1 Capitol District Building, 250 South Hotel Street, Honolulu, HI 96813 Phone: (808) 586-1518 Email: cynthia.morita@hawaii.gov

E. Procurement Timetable Listed below are the important actions and corresponding final dates by which the actions must be taken or completed. Offerors are notified that these dates are estimated by BUF and are subject to change at the discretion of BUF. BUF reserves the right to change any date(s) as deemed necessary and in the best interest of BUF. If BUF decides to change a date for any reason, notification will be provided through the addendum process described in Section I.M., RFP Amendments and Addendum.

https://hiepro.ehawaii.gov/ mailto:cynthia.morita@hawaii.gov

ACTION: DATE:

Release of the RFP August 14, 2026 Last date for questions August 24, 2026 BUF response to questions August 28, 2026 Deadline to submit proposals September 15, 2026 Determination of priority-listed offerors September 24, 2026 Presentations by priority-listed offerors September 30, 2026 Best and final offers October 7, 2026 Contract Award October 21, 2026 Contract Start Date October 30, 2026

Priority-listed offerors selected will be required to make a presentation on the date or date range stated in the Procurement Timetable in Honolulu, Hawaii. BUF will provide the format, location or virtual-access instructions, time limit, and any required presentation topics to all priority-listed offerors on an equal basis.

TERM OF CONTRACT, The contract shall be for an initial period of twenty-four (24) months, with the option to extend for two (2) additional twelve (12) month periods or portions thereof, without the necessity of reprocuring.

TYPE OF CONTRACT:

This is a firm fixed price contract. The base contract shall use deliverable-based fixed prices. No work outside the agreed deliverables shall begin without prior written authorization from the Contract Administrator.

F. Communications with BUF

All questions must be submitted through the Hawaii State eProcurement System (HIePRO). Questions must be submitted by the question deadline date and time shown in the Procurement Timetable. Answers will be given via the Hawaii State eProcurement System (HIePRO) site as noted in the Procurement Timetable.

Offerors are cautioned about including context in questions that may reveal the source of questions. The identity of potential Offerors will not be published with the answers, but the text of questions will be restated, to the extent possible, to exclude information identifying potential Offerors.

G. Submission of Proposals Offerors must carefully examine the solicitation, amendments (if any), required contract forms, and other documents, laws and rules, as necessary, before submitting a proposal.

The submission of a proposal shall be considered to be a warranty and representation that the Offeror has made a careful examination and understands the work and the requirements of this solicitation.

Each Offeror shall submit only one Proposal. If an Offeror submits more than one

Proposal, then the State reserves the right to reject and or dismiss the Offeror and all proposals from the RFP Process

• All Electronic Submission Required

Offerors must submit their entire proposal electronically through the State of Hawaii eProcurement System (HIePRO). This electronically submitted upload will be recognized by BUF as the official and legally binding original.

• Number of Copies

1. Electronic Copies: One (1) complete digital file upload via HIePRO.

2. Hard Copies: Zero (0). No physical paper copies will be accepted by BUF/ARO-

Fiscal Office.

3. Alternate Media: Zero (0). Submissions via thumb drives, flash drives, or optical discs (CD/DVD) are strictly prohibited.

• Prohibited Submission Methods Proposals submitted outside of the HIePRO platform will be automatically disqualified. BUF will not accept or consider submissions delivered via:

1. USPS, FedEX, UPS, or hand delivery to the BUF/ARO-Fiscal office

2. Facsimile (FAX) transmission

3. Direct email to BUF staff or procurement officers.

• File Size and Format Constraints

1. Allowed Formats: All documents must be uploaded in searchable Portable Document Format (PDF). Microsoft Word or Excel formats are only allowed if explicitly requested for budget spreadsheets or forms.

2. File Size Limits: HIePRO accepts a maximum individual file size of 100MB. If the total proposal exceeds 100MB, the Offeror must split the proposal logically into separate files (e.g., “Proposal_Part_1.pdf”, “Proposal_Part_2.pdf”) and upload them sequentially.

3. Integrity: It is sole responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that all uploaded files are uncorrupted, legible, and completely free of passwords, encryption, or digital rights management (DRM) locks that prevent evaluation committee access.

Payment to Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC dba Tyler Hawaii

HIePRO is administered by Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC dba Tyler Hawaii.

Tyler Hawaii shall invoice the Contractor(s) directly for payment of transaction fees.

Payment must be made to Tyler Hawaii within thirty (30) days from receipt of invoice.

HIC is an intended third-party beneficiary of transaction fees, which are used to fund the operation, maintenance, and future enhancements of the HIePRO system

H. Receipt, Opening and Recording of Proposals; Late Proposals Proposals will not be opened publicly but will be opened in the presence of two or more procurement officials. Proposals and modifications will be shown only to personnel who have a legitimate interest in them.

After the date established for receipt of proposals, a register of proposals will be prepared which will include the name of each offeror and the number of modifications received, if any. The register of proposals shall be open to public inspection only after a contract has been awarded.

Any notice of withdrawal, notice of modification of a proposal with the actual modification, or any proposal received by the Procurement Officer after the time and date set for receipt and opening of proposals is late and will not be considered for award. A late proposal, late modification, or late withdrawal shall not be considered late if it would have been timely but for the action or inaction of personnel within BUF. A late withdrawal request shall be answered with a statement of the reasons for nonacceptance of the withdrawal.

An offeror may withdraw and resubmit a proposal prior to the final submission date. No withdrawals or re-submissions will be allowed after the final submission date.

I. Best and Final Offer (BAFO) If deemed appropriate by the State in its sole discretion, the State may request each Offeror to submit its BAFO. The request shall be issued via an Addendum, which will provide guidance and additional instructions. Offeror’s BAFOs shall be submitted to the State through HIePRO on or before the deadline called for. If an Offeror fails to do so, its last submitted Offer shall be deemed its BAFO.

The BAFOs will be evaluated by the Evaluation Committee in accordance with the evaluation criteria and point values set forth in Section IV of this RFP.

J. Mistakes in Proposals Mistakes shall not be corrected after the contract. Before the award is made, if the Procurement Officer has reason to conclude that a mistake has been made, the Procurement Officer will request the Offeror to confirm the proposal. If the Offeror alleges mistake, the proposal may be corrected or withdrawn.

Once discussions commenced or after best and final offers are requested, any priority-listed offeror may freely correct any mistake by modifying or withdrawing the proposal until the time and date set for receipt of best and final offers.

If discussions are not held, or if the best and final offers upon which award will be made have been received, mistakes shall be corrected to the intended correct offer whenever the mistake and the intended correct offer are clearly evidenced on the face of the proposal, in which event, the proposal may not be withdrawn.

If discussions are not held, or if the best and final offers upon which award will be made have been received, an Offeror alleging a material mistake of fact which makes a proposal nonresponsive may be permitted to withdraw the proposal if: the mistake is clearly evident on the face of the proposal but the intended correct offer is not; or the Offeror submits evidence which clearly and convincingly demonstrates that a mistake was made.

BUF reserves the right to waive or permit cure for minor informalities, errors or omissions, and to conduct discussion with all qualified Offerors in any manner necessary to serve the best interests of BUF.

K. Costs for Proposal Preparation Expenses for the development and submission of responses to the RFP are the sole responsibility of the organization submitting the response. Travel and expenses to and from the State of Hawaii are also the sole responsibility of the organization submitting the response.

L. Disqualification of Proposals BUF reserves the right to consider acceptable only those proposals submitted in accordance with all requirements set forth in this RFP and which demonstrate an understanding of the scope of work. Any proposal offering any other set of terms and conditions, or terms and conditions contradictory to those included in this RFP, may be disqualified without further notice.

An Offeror will be disqualified and the proposal automatically rejected for any one or more of the following non-exclusive reasons:

• Proof of collusion among offerors, in which case all proposals and Offerors involved in the collusive action will be rejected.

• The proposal shows any noncompliance with applicable law.

• The proposal is conditional, incomplete, or irregular in such a way as to make the proposal incomplete, indefinite, or ambiguous as to its meaning.

• The proposal has any provision reserving the right to accept or reject award, or to enter into an agreement pursuant to an award, or provisions contrary to those required in the solicitation.

• The delivery of the proposal after the deadline specified in the timetable.

• The Offeror being in arrears on existing contracts with the State or has defaulted on previous contracts.

• The Offeror’s conflicts of interest or lack of independence in judgment.

M. RFP Amendments and Addendum BUF may modify any part of the RFP, prior to the date fixed for final submission of responses, by issuance of an addendum to all participating parties. BUF will respond to questions and inquiries via the addendum process. Addenda will be numbered consecutively.

N. Cancellation of Request for Proposals/Rejections of Proposals This RFP may be cancelled and any or all proposals may be rejected in whole or in part, when it is determined to be in the best interests of BUF.

O. Uncertainties Beyond the Control of BUF BUF recognizes that circumstances beyond the control of the BUF may arise that may significantly affect the ability of the contractor to provide the services described in this RFP or as proposed by the contractor. Accordingly, BUF reserves the right to modify the agreement to address such circumstances.

P. Proposal Bonds; Performance and/or Payment Bonds No bid bond is required to be submitted with the proposal, and no performance or payment bond will be required for the contract awarded pursuant to this RFP.

Q. Acceptance of Proposal and Execution of Contract Acceptance of a proposal, if any, will be made as provided in the Procurement Timetable found in I.E. The Offeror must have the ability to perform as called for in the RFP and in the contract. BUF shall be the sole judge of capability. The successful Offeror will be notified by letter that its proposal has been accepted and that the Offeror is being awarded the contract.

BUF reserves the right to award a contract based upon the written responses received and without prior discussion or negotiations.

BUF shall forward a contract to the successful Offeror for execution. The contract shall be signed by the successful Offeror and returned within ten days after receiving receipt by the Offeror or within such further time as may be allowed.

No contract shall be considered binding upon BUF until the contract has been fully and properly executed by all parties thereto.

If the Offeror to whom a contract is awarded shall fail or neglect to enter into the contract within ten days after such award or within such further time as may be allowed, the Procurement Officer will consider the next highest ranked offeror or may call for new proposals, if it is deemed to be in the best interests of BUF.

R. Debriefing Nonselected offerors may submit a written request for debriefing to the Procurement Officer or designee within three (3) working days after the posting of the award of the contract. If a debriefing is requested by one or more of the nonselected offerors, a combined debriefing will be held. The debriefing will be held, to the maximum extent practicable, within seven (7) working days after receiving receipt by the Procurement Officer or designee of the first request for debriefing.

A protest by the requestor following a debriefing shall be filed within five (5) working days after completion of the debriefing, as provided by applicable law.

S. Protest Procedures Pursuant to §103D-701, HRS and §3-126-3, HAR, an actual or prospective Offeror who is aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or award of a contract may submit a protest.

Any protest shall be submitted in writing to the Procurement Officer at:

Procurement Officer

State of Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance No. 1 Capitol District Building 250 South Hotel Street Honolulu, HI 96813 Phone: (808) 586-1518 Email: cynthia.morita@hawaii.gov

A protest shall be submitted in writing within five (5) working days after the aggrieved person knows or should have known of the facts giving rise thereto; provided that a protest based upon the content of the solicitation shall be submitted in writing prior to the date set for receipt of offers. Further, provided that a protest of an award or proposed award shall be submitted within five (5) working days after the posting of award or if requested, within five (5) working days after the Procurement Officer’s debriefing was completed.

The notice of award, if any, resulting from this solicitation shall be posted on the State of Hawaii electronic procurement site: https://hiepro.ehawaii.gov

T. Requirements for Doing Business in the State of Hawaii Section 3-122-112, HAR, requires that, before award of contract may be made, the successful offeror must provide proof of compliance with the requirements of the following chapters of the Hawaii Revised Statutes:

1. Chapter 237, General Excise Taxes.

2. Chapter 383, Unemployment Insurance.

3. Chapter 386, Workers’ Compensation.

4. Chapter 392, Temporary Disability Insurance.

5. Chapter 393, Prepaid Health Care.

And one of the following:

1) Be registered and incorporated or organized under the laws of the State of Hawaii, Or

2) Be registered to do business in the State of Hawaii.

mailto:cynthia.morita@hawaii.gov https://hiepro.ehawaii.gov/

Reference Responsibility for Offerors in §3-122-112, HAR. Offeror shall produce documents to the Procurement Officer to demonstrate compliance with this section.

Chapter 237, HRS, tax clearance requirement for award and final payment.

Pursuant to §103D-328, HRS, the successful offeror shall be required to submit a tax clearance certificate issued by the Hawaii State Department of Taxation (DOTAX) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The certificate is valid for six (6) months from the most recent approval stamp date on the certificate and must be valid on the date it is received by the purchasing agency.

The tax clearance certificate shall be obtained on the State of Hawaii, DOTAX TAX CLEARANCE APPLICATION Form A-6 (Rev.2003) which is available at the DOTAX offices in the State of Hawaii or the DOTAX website, and by mail or fax:

DOTAX Website (Forms & Information): http://www.state.hi.us/tax/alphalist.html

DOTAX Forms by Fax/Mail: (808) 587-7572 or 1-800-222-7572

Completed tax clearance applications may be mailed, faxed, or submitted in person to the Department of Taxation, Taxpayer Services Branch, to the address listed on the application.

Facsimile numbers are:

DOTAX: (808) 587-1488

IRS: (808) 539-1573

The application for the clearance is the responsibility of the offeror and must be submitted directly to the DOTAX or IRS and not to the purchasing agency.

Contractor is required to submit a tax clearance certificate for final payment on the contract. A tax clearance certificate, not over two months old, with an original green certified copy stamp, must accompany the invoice for final payment on the contract.

In addition to a tax clearance certificate an original “Certification of Compliance for Final Payment” (SPO Form 22), attached, will be required for final payment. A copy of the Form is also available at www.spo.hawaii.gov.

Chapters 383 (Unemployment Insurance), 386 (Workers’ Compensation), 392 (Temporary Disability Insurance), and 393 (Prepaid Health Care), HRS, requirements for award.

Pursuant to §103D-310(c), HRS, the successful offeror shall be required to submit an approved certificate of compliance issued by the Hawaii State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR). The certificate is valid for six (6) months from the date of the issue and must be valid on the date it is received by the purchasing agency.

The application for certificate of compliance (Form LIR #27) can be obtained from the DLIR website:

http://www.state.hi.us/tax/alphalist.html http://www.spo.hawaii.gov/ http://www.dlir.state.hi.us/forms/ApplicationforCertificateofCompliance.pdf or from:

DLIR Administrative Services Office 830 Punchbowl Street, Room 309 Honolulu, HI 96813 Phone: (808) 586-8888 Fax: (808) 586-8899

The DLIR will return the form to the offeror who in turn shall submit it to the purchasing agency. The application for the Certificate is the responsibility of the offeror and must be submitted directly to the DLIR and not to the purchasing agency.

Business registration.

Hawaii business. A business entity referred to as a “Hawaii business” is registered and incorporated or organized under the laws of the State of Hawaii. As evidence of compliance, offeror shall submit a CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING issued by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Business Registration Division (“BREG”). A Hawaii business that is a sole proprietorship, however, is not required to register with the BREG, and therefore not required to submit the certificate. An offeror’s status as sole proprietor or other business entity and its business street address indicated on Proposal Letter will be used to confirm that the offeror is a Hawaii business.

Compliant non-Hawaii business. A business entity referred to as a “compliant non- Hawaii business” is not incorporated or organized under the laws of the State of Hawaii but is registered to do business in the State. As evidence of compliance, offeror shall submit a CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING.

To obtain a CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING go online to www.businessregistrations.com and follow the instructions. To register or to obtain a “Certificate of Good Standing” by phone, call (808) 586-2727 (M-F 7:45 am to 4:30 pm- HST). The “Certificate of Good Standing” is valid for six (6) months from date of issue and offerors are advised that there are costs associated with registering and obtaining a “Certificate of Good Standing” from the BREG.

The above certificates should be applied for and submitted to the purchasing agency as soon as possible. If a valid certificate is not submitted on a timely basis for award of the contract, an offeror otherwise responsive and responsible may not receive the award.

Vendor Compliance - Hawaii Compliance Express (HCE) Vendors may use the HCE, which is an electronic system that allows vendors/Contractors/service providers doing business with the State to quickly and easily demonstrate compliance with applicable laws. It is an online system that replaces the necessity of obtaining paper compliance certificates from the Department of Taxation, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and Department of Commerce and http://www.dlir.state.hi.us/forms/ApplicationforCertificateofCompliance.pdf http://www.businessregistrations.com/

Consumer Affairs.

Effective September 15, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) discontinued its participation in the Hawai‘i Compliance Express (HCE) program. As a result, vendors – excluding tax-exempt vendors – must directly upload their IRS Tax Compliance Report (TCR) to the HCE system. Vendors shall comply with the current IRS tax clearance and waiver procedures established by the State Procurement Office and Department of Taxation, including Procurement Circular 2026-12, as amended.

Vendors/Contractors/service providers intending to use the HCE to demonstrate compliance are advised to register on HCE as soon as possible at https://vendors.ehawaii.gov.

II. SCOPE OF WORK

A. Introduction The purpose of the agreement resulting from this RFP is to obtain professional services to establish a statewide Green Fee outcomes and monitoring framework, configure and launch a public-facing information and evaluation dashboard accessible via a website, train State users and project leads, and transfer the system, documentation, and operating knowledge to the State.

Project Title: Green Fee Outcomes Framework & Monitoring/Evaluation Dashboard

Maximum Contract Budget: $500,000

Implementation Period: Twenty-four (24) months following issuance of the Notice to Proceed.

B. Timeline & Project Lifespan The contract will commence upon full execution and issuance of a written notice to proceed.

The initial implementation will cover the active cohort of Green Fee-funded projects identified by BUF and will establish a structure capable of accommodating future projects and reporting cycles.

Bidders must design or leverage an existing platform to create a visualization tool that includes a sustainable, interactive framework that transitions data maintenance to the project leads, allowing them to independently update metrics, timelines, and storytelling elements following completion of the initial implementation period.

Bidders are also responsible for ensuring the platform is publicly accessible via a website and supported by outreach efforts to promote public awareness and engagement.

C. Scope of Work and Guidelines

The following structure serves as the primary guideline for the contract. Bidders may propose strategic improvements, methodology changes, or alternative technical approaches based on industry’s best practices. The State encourages the use of existing, commercially available dashboarding platforms rather than custom software development, provided the selected tools meet accessibility, security, and long-term sustainability requirements.

1. Phase I: Outcomes Framework (Prerequisite)

Before any dashboard architecture is built, the contractor will collaborate with state agencies to establish a Green Fee Outcomes Framework.

The contractor will work with the State agencies to:

• Recommend a practical hierarchy and number of statewide outcomes, project indicators, outputs, and financial measures, subject to BUF approval.

• Map each project to one or more applicable statewide outcomes while preserving project-specific measures where needed.

• Align the framework explicitly with the legislative goals of Act 96.

• Develop an indicator dictionary and instructional guidance identifying each measure’s definition, purpose, formula, unit, source, owner, baseline, target, reporting frequency, documentation standard, validation rule, and public-display rule.

2. Phase II: Dashboard Development Layers

The contractor will design or configure a public-facing dashboard accessible via a website using existing dashboarding tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, ArcGIS Online, or similar platforms). Custom software development is not required unless proposed by the bidder as a valued enhancement.

The dashboard shall include, at a minimum, the following interconnected functional areas, such as:

1. Financial Transparency Layer

2. Project Tracking Layer

3. Outcomes Layer (High Priority)

4. Geographic (GIS) Layer

5. Storytelling Layer

6. Strategic Impact Layer

Technical and Operational Requirements Document the proposed solution architecture, hosting model, development and production environments, data flows, integrations, backup and recovery, audit logging, authentication, role-based access, and administrative controls.

Meet applicable State security, privacy, records-retention, and incident-reporting requirements. The contractor shall identify data classifications and shall not expose restricted data through the public dashboard.

Meet the State-adopted accessibility standard. Deliverables shall include automated and manual accessibility testing, and State acceptance before public release.

Support current major desktop and mobile browsers and define measurable standards for availability, page-load performance, data-refresh frequency, and user capacity.

Provide the State with all source files, schemas, data models, connectors, configurations, credentials, design assets, documentation, and other materials needed to maintain the solution, subject to disclosed third-party license terms.

Identify all recurring costs, license tiers, administrator and contributor account limits, hosting charges, renewal assumptions, and any functionality lost if optional services are not renewed.

The dashboard must be intuitive, interactive, visually clear, and accessible. The dashboard must also be maintainable by trained State staff without routine vendor intervention.

Independent maintenance means State administrators are able to add projects, manage users, update data sources, revise approved content, correct data, publish releases, access audit records, and perform ordinary configuration changes using transferred documentation and credentials.

D. Phase III: Long-Term Legacy & Self-Updating Framework

To accommodate projects extending beyond the initial two-year cycle, bidders must explicitly address:

• Decentralized Data Entry Architecture. A secure, user-friendly interface—within the chosen dashboarding tool or a companion platform—allowing project leads to update their own data.

• Automated Data Validation & Notification Triggers. Built-in rules and reminders to ensure timely and accurate updates.

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). Ensuring project leads can edit only their own data while State administrators retain oversight.

• Self-Paced Training & Continuity Documentation. Includes video walkthroughs, user manuals, and administrator guides.

• Instructional Guidance for Agencies. The contractor must co-develop with the State a clear, accessible set of instructions for agencies on:

o How to report outcomes o How to upload/update data o How to maintain narrative and multimedia elements o How to ensure consistency across reporting cycles

• Transition and Acceptance o Conduct administrator and end-user training using State-approved materials and recorded sessions.

o Complete a transition exercise in which designated State staff perform core administrative and reporting tasks without contractor intervention.

o Correct all material defects identified during acceptance testing before final acceptance.

o Provide at least ninety (90) calendar days of post-launch warranty support for defects, accessibility issues, configuration errors, and documentation gaps.

Offerors shall separately price any support extending beyond the warranty period.

E. Deliverables

The Contractor shall complete all work within the FY2026-2027 through FY2028-2029 performance period. Payments will be made on a deliverable-based schedule that is agreed to by the State. All deliverables must be submitted in draft and final form, with final approval by BUF required prior to payment release.

Phase I — Outcomes Framework Development (Months 1–6)

• Preliminary online visual of fiscal data for initial set of projects (to be posted by

December 31, 2026)

• Work plan

• Meeting with Stakeholders

• Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

• Instructional Guidance for State Agencies on Outcome Reporting

Phase II — Dashboard Architecture & Development (Months 6–18)

• Prototype Dashboard (Internal)

• Public-Facing Dashboard Beta Release

• Public visualization tool architecture

• Ongoing meetings with stakeholders

• Further refinement of M&E framework and dashboard

Phase III — Long-Term Legacy & Self-Updating Framework (Months 18–24)

• Data entry workflow or interface

• Training materials and documentation

• Final completed dashboard

• Full transfer of files, settings, and system configuration

F. Payment Schedule (Deliverables-Based) The final contract shall assign a fixed payment amount to each accepted deliverable. The final deliverable schedule shall be discussed and agreed upon by the parties before contract execution. Final payment shall be withheld until the State confirms completion of transition testing, transfer of all required materials and credentials, correction of any material defects, and final acceptance of all contract requirements.

Pursuant to §103-10, HRS, the State shall have thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of invoice or satisfactory completion of projects to make payment. For this reason, the State will reject any offer submitted with a condition requiring payment within a shorter period.

Further, the State will reject any offer submitted with a condition requiring interest payments greater than that allowed by §103-10, as amended.

The State will not recognize any requirement established by the Contractor and communicated to the State after the award of the contract, which requires payment within a shorter period or interest payment not in conformance with the statute.

III. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

A. Overview of Minimum Requirements

The offeror shall prepare a written proposal that will fully describe the qualifications and availability of the offeror to provide the services requested and the compensation the offeror proposes in response to this RFP. The proposal shall include, without limitation, the following:

a. Cover letter

b. Executive Summary and understanding of the project.

c. Monitoring and evaluation framework methodology, including an initial results hierarchy and approach to project variability.

d. Technical solution and architecture, including platform, hosting, environments, integrations, security, accessibility, performance, licensing, and long-term maintenance.

e. Implementation work plan, schedule, project management, risk management, and State dependencies.

f. Governance, stakeholder engagement, data collection, data validation, and content approval approach.

g. Training, knowledge transfer, transition, warranty support, and continuity plan.

h. Communications and storytelling approach, with clear assumptions regarding interviews, translation, photography, video, public meetings, social media, and paid promotion.

i. Organization qualifications, relevant projects, references, and sample work products.

j. References including key personnel, roles, level of effort, resumes, availability, and proposed subcontractors, where applicable.

k. Contract exceptions and requested modifications.

l. Completed Fee Proposal and all required certifications.

m. Acknowledgement of review of contract general conditions (Attachment B, which can also be found at https://spo.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/103D-General- Conditions.pdf)

B. Cover Letter

The RFP response must include a cover letter addressed to the Procurement Officer. The letter, which will be considered an integral part of the Proposal, must contain the following:

1. Contact Information

The cover letter shall include the offeror’s name, address, telephone/fax numbers, and e-mail address.

2. Terms and Conditions of RFP A statement that the offeror fully understands and will comply with all terms and conditions contained in the RFP.

https://spo.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/103D-General-Conditions.pdf https://spo.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/103D-General-Conditions.pdf

The offeror must include written acknowledgement of receipt of any and all amendments or addenda made to this RFP.

3. Legal Entity

A statement indicating that the offeror is an individual, a partnership, a limited liability company or a corporation. If the offeror is a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company or other legal entity, include a statement indicating the jurisdiction where the offeror is organized.

4. Authorized Signature

The cover letter must be signed by an individual or individual authorized to legally bind the offeror. If the offeror is a corporation, evidence in the form of a certified copy of a corporate resolution or certified copy of articles of incorporation or bylaws shall be submitted showing the individual's authority to bind the corporation. If the offeror is a partnership, the proposal must be signed by all the partners or evidence in the form of a certified copy of the partnership agreement shall be submitted showing the individual's authority to bind the partnership. Similar evidence must be submitted for an individual signing the proposal letter on behalf of any other kind of entity.

5. Federal Tax ID No.

The cover letter shall include the offeror's federal tax identification number.

6. Hawaii General Excise Tax ID No.

A Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) ID must be provided or a representation that a Hawaii General Excise Tax ID will be obtained prior to commencement of the work.

7. Current Licenses and Registration A statement identifying all professional, business, platform, or other licenses required to perform the offeror’s proposed solution. If no professional license is legally required for the proposed services, the offeror shall state so. The selected offeror must be registered and compliant to do business in the State of Hawaii before award or contract execution, as required by law.

8. Subcontracting Services

A statement by the offeror indicating that the work described in the RFP will not be subcontracted, except as described in the proposal, or assigned. The extent to which the work will be subcontracted, and the qualifications of any subcontractor will be considered in evaluating the offeror's ability to perform the service referred to in the RFP.

Contractor Responsibility for Subcontractors The Subcontractors providing services shall meet the same service requirements and provide the same quality of service required of the Contractor and in a timely manner. No subcontract shall relieve the Contractor of its responsibilities for the Services it provides.

The Contractor shall manage the quality and performance, project management and schedules, and timely start and completion of services performed by each of its

Subcontractors. The Contractor shall be solely responsible and accountable for the completion of all Services it has subcontracted.

Removal of Subcontractors In addition to any rights the State has under Law, the State shall have the right to require the removal of a Subcontractor or any of its personnel providing or supporting services for a good cause. In such a case, the State shall specify the deadline for such removal after consultation with the applicable Contractor. A Subcontractor proposed by the Contractor to replace the removed Subcontractor shall be subject to the approval of the State.

Right to Retain Subcontractors The State shall have the right to directly retain any Subcontractor after the expiration, termination, or suspension of the Contract under which it is retained, including any Subcontractor providing services subject to any part of a Contract that is terminated or suspended.

9. Non-discrimination

A statement of affirmative action that the offeror does not discriminate in employment and practices with regard to race, color, religion, age (except as provided by law), sex, marital status, political affiliation, national origin, handicap or disability.

10. BUF Approval of Contractor’s Recommendations

A statement that the offeror understands that BUF reserves the right to disapprove contractor recommendations without penalty when they conflict with the policy or fiscal interests of the BUF, as determined by the BUF.

11. Terms and Conditions of Contract

Affirm that the provisions of the sample contract in Attachment B are acceptable or state any proposed modifications. BUF reserves the right to decline or classify as “unresponsive” any substantive changes, modifications, or revisions to the provisions of the sample contract.

C. Confidential or Proprietary Information

The offeror shall designate those portions of the proposal that contain trade secrets or other proprietary data/information that the offeror wishes to remain confidential. This information must be clearly marked and readily separable from the proposal to facilitate public inspection of the non-confidential portions. Any request for public inspection is subject to the requirements of Chapter 92F, HRS. The entire proposal CANNOT be considered confidential. The fee proposal CANNOT be considered confidential.

D. Liability Insurance

The Contractor shall maintain in full force and effect during the life of this contract, liability and property damage insurance to protect the Contractor and his Subcontractors, if any, from claims for damages for personal injury, accidental death, and property damage which may arise from operations under this contract, whether such operations be by the Contractor or by

Subcontractor or anyone directly or indirectly employed by either of them. If any Subcontractor is involved, the insurance policy or policies shall name the Subcontractor as additional insured.

As an alternative to the Contractor providing insurance to cover operations performed by a Subcontractor and naming the Subcontractor as additional insured, the Contractor may require the Subcontractor to provide its insurance, which meets the requirements herein. It is understood that a Subcontractor’s insurance policy or policies are in addition to the Contractor's policy or policies.

The following minimum insurance coverage(s) and limit(s) shall be provided by the Contractor, including its Subcontractor(s) where appropriate.

COVERAGE LIMITS

Commercial General Liability $1,000,000 per occurrence (Occurrence form) $2,000,000 aggregate

Automobile Liability $1,000,000 per accident

Professional Liability shall be required from vendors providing professional services requiring a license to conduct its business such as an engineer, architect, accountant, lawyer, information technology services, etc.

Professional and Technology-Based Services Liability Insurance shall be required to insure against damages and claim the expense as a result of claims arising from actual or alleged wrongful acts in performing cyber and technology activities in the amount of $2,000,000, per accident/occurrence/annual aggregate.

Network and Cyber Liability Insurance Include coverage for Professional and Technology-Based Services Liability if not covered under Company’s Professional Liability/Errors and Omissions Insurance reference above in the amount of $2,000,000, per claim/occurrence/annual aggregate, covering the Contractor, its employees, agents, contractors, and subcontractors in the performance of all services.

Each insurance policy required by this contract (with the exception of the Professional Liability policy), including a Subcontractor’s policy, shall contain the following clauses:

a. "The State of Hawaii is added as an additional insured as respects to operations performed for the State of Hawaii."

b. "It is agreed that any insurance maintained by the State of Hawaii will apply in excess of, and not contribute with, insurance provided by this policy."

A Waiver of Subrogation shall apply to the General Liability, Automobile Liability, and Worker’s Compensation insurance policies and shall be in favor of the State of Hawaii.

Prior to award, the Contractor agrees to deposit with the State of Hawaii certificate(s) of insurance necessary to satisfy the State that the insurance provisions of this RFP have been complied with and to keep such insurance in effect and the certificate(s) therefore on deposit with the State during the entire term of the price list and price list extensions, if any, including those of its Subcontractor(s), where appropriate. Upon request by the State, Contractor shall be responsible for furnishing a copy of the policy or policies.

Failure of the Contractor to provide and keep in force such insurance shall be regarded as material default, entitling the State to exercise any or all of the remedies provided in the contract and this RFP for default by the Contractor.

The procuring of such required insurance shall not be construed to limit the Contractor's liability hereunder nor to fulfill the indemnification provisions and requirements of this RFP.

Notwithstanding said policy or policies of insurance, the Contractor shall be obliged for the full and total amount of any damage, injury, or loss caused by negligence or neglect connected with this contract.

IV. PROPOSAL EVALUATION

A. Introduction

BUF seeks a qualified contractor to develop the Green Fee outcomes framework, monitoring and evaluation structure, public-facing dashboard accessible via a website, and related training and transition services through a fair and competitive process. Award shall be made to the responsible Offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the State of Hawaii, taking into consideration price and the evaluation factors set forth in this

RFP.

Through the selection process, BUF reserves its sole discretion in awarding the contract.

BUF reserves the right:

1. To not award the contract to the lowest cost offeror.

2. To not award the contract at all.

B. Evaluation Process

A committee selected by the Procurement Officer will review and evaluate all proposals submitted by the deadline specified in this RFP.

The evaluation process will be conducted in five phases:

Phase 1 - Evaluation of Mandatory Requirements Phase 2 - Establishment of Priority List of Offerors Phase 3 - Interviews with Priority-Listed Offerors Phase 4 - Final Evaluation of Proposals Phase 5 – Award

C. Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation & Scoring Matrix Evaluators shall consider only the information submitted in response to this RFP, permitted clarifications, interviews, discussions, and best and final offers. Evaluators shall evaluate proposals solely in accordance with the evaluation criteria and point values stated in this RFP.

A maximum of 100 points may be awarded:

D. Evaluation Criteria Points

CRITERIA POINTS

Monitoring and Evaluation Framework Methodology 35 Technical Dashboard Solution, Accessibility, Security, and Maintainability 25 Implementation, Governance, Training, and Transition Approach 15 Organization Qualifications, Relevant Experience, and Past Performance 15 Cost 10

Total 100

E. Organizational Criteria Offeror must demonstrate:

• Prior experience developing public‑facing dashboards or data visualization tools.

Offeror must provide specific projects and dates performed.

• Capacity to perform statewide data collection, aggregation, and stakeholder coordination.

• Ability to meet security, accessibility, and data privacy requirements applicable to government systems.

• Past performance on projects of similar scope for public agencies or private industry, including performance demonstrated through references provided by the Offeror.

F. Key Personnel Qualifications Criteria

The Offeror must identify key staff assigned to the project who possess:

• Experience in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) design.

• Experience in data architecture, platform design, or dashboard development.

•…