RFQ - ITS86 - Allowance Tracking System Software. 8.20 AP.docx

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Department of Environmental Protection

Request for Quotes (RFQ) from Eligible Vendors on:

ITS86 Software and Services Statewide Contract Document Title:

MassDEP Allowance Tracking System Software

COMMBUYS BID:

Posted on: August 25, 2026

IN ACCORDANCE WITH M.G.L. C. 66 AND M.G.L. C. 4, § 7 (26), THIS RFQ AND ALL RESPONSES HERETO INCLUDING THE WINNING BID SHALL BECOME PUBLIC RECORD, AND CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION BY SUBMITTING A REQUEST AT: HTTPS://WWW.MASS.GOV/MASSDEP-PUBLIC-RECORDS-REQUEST. ANY PORTIONS OF A RESPONSE THAT ARE LABELED AS CONFIDENTIAL WILL STILL BE CONSIDERED PUBLIC RECORD.

Contents

I. General Procurement Information A. General Information Purchasing Department: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

Procurement Program Contact: William Space

Telephone: 617-571-0295

E-Mail Address: william.space@mass.gov

Procurement Fiscal Contact: Alexandrine Policar

Telephone: 617-680-1312

E-Mail Address: alexandrine.policar@mass.gov

RFQ File Number and Title: MassDEP Allowance Tracking System Software

Attachments: Attachment A - COMMBUYS Instructions Attachment B - Digital Accessibility Provisions

This Request for Quotes (“RFQ”) does not commit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“Commonwealth”) or the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“MassDEP”) to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a Bidder’s response to this RFQ or to purchase any products or services. MassDEP may: (i) accept or reject any and all bids received as a result of this RFQ; (ii) contract for some, all, or none of the products and services offered by Bidders in response to this RFQ; (iii) negotiate with one or more qualified Bidders; or (iv) cancel, in part or in its entirety, this RFQ if it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth to do so. The terms “Vendor” and “Bidder” may be used interchangeably in this RFQ.

MassDEP may amend this RFQ at any time prior to the date the responses are due. Any such amendment will be posted to the Commonwealth’s procurement website, COMMBUYS (www.commbuys.com).

Bidders must submit their bids through the Commonwealth’s online procurement system, COMMBUYS, as detailed in Attachment A. Bidders are advised to check this site regularly, as this will be the sole method used for notification of changes.

B. Eligible Bidders

This RFQ is restricted to Vendors in Category 1 on the following statewide software contract: ITS86 (Software and Services). All the terms and conditions of Statewide Contract ITS86 are incorporated herein and made a part hereof. Conflicting terms, conditions, or agreements included in or attached to this form, or accepted via any click-through agreement, shall be considered to be superseded and void. MassDEP expects to select a reseller (ITS86, Category 1) who can partner with a software publisher to provide the required services. The ITS86 Vendors are listed in the ITS86 User Guide, available at https://www.statewidecontractuserguide.mass.gov/CUG/Guide/ITS86/E.

C. Estimated Procurement Calendar

All times in this RFQ are in prevailing Eastern Time. Responses must be received no later than the response due date and time indicated below, or they will not be evaluated. Bidders must have their responses fully loaded and accepted in COMMBUYS prior to the RFQ Response Due Date and Time listed below. Bidders are urged to allow sufficient time to upload their entire response.

*Bidder team must be available to demonstrate the proposed solution if needed.

The Agency has a strong preference to have a new contract in place as soon as possible. Bidders must be prepared to have resources available to meet and negotiate the contract upon notification of selection as the Apparent Successful Bidder.

II. Description and Purpose of Procurement

A. Background

MassDEP is the state agency responsible for regulating air pollution in Massachusetts, including carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. In order to continue implementing the regulation 310 CMR 7.74: Reducing CO2 Emissions from Electricity Generating Facilities, MassDEP is seeking bids from ITS86 Category 1 resellers who can partner with a software publisher in order to provide MassDEP with a Software as a Service (“SaaS”) solution that consists of an automated allowance tracking system. The SaaS system that is proposed must include all elements/costs required for automated allowance tracking, including but not limited to the installation, configuration, hosting, support and maintenance of the system.

Since 2018, facilities regulated under 310 CMR 7.74 (“Regulated Entity Community”) are required to acquire and make available for deduction one allowance for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit. An allowance is a tradable commodity used to comply with the regulation, and a tracking system is necessary because allowances have economic value and can be traded among the Regulated Entity Community before being used for compliance.

As described in detail below, the tracking system shall be a cloud hosted, web-based platform, with role-based security for the Regulated Entity Community and MassDEP staff. The tracking system shall consist of accounts to hold allowances on behalf of regulated facilities, along with functionality to allow facilities to transfer their allowances to other accounts, and to allow MassDEP to allocate allowances to accounts and deduct allowances from accounts. Examples of existing allowance tracking systems in the United States include systems maintained by Massachusetts, California and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc.

MassDEP has a strong preference for vendors that can provide continuity with the existing system, referenced immediately below.

Additional background information is available at the following links:

310 CMR 7.74: Reducing Emissions from Electricity Generating Facilities

· 310 CMR 7.74(6)(c) includes key tracking system requirements.

· The existing system is described in a user guide available on the website.

RGGI, Inc.’s CO2 Allowance Tracking System (COATS):

https://rggi-coats.org/eats/rggi/

California’s Compliance Information Tracking System Service (CITSS):

https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/markettrackingsystem/markettrackingsystem.htm

Emissions Trading Registries: Guidance on Regulation, Development and Administration (published by the World Bank’s Partnership for Market Readiness) https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/25142

· Page 44 of this World Bank document lists vendors with relevant experience.

The allowance tracking system platform shall be web-based, and shall be installed, configured, maintained, and supported as “Software as a Service” (SaaS).

B. Process:

(1) Initial Evaluation: Responses received by the due date posted in COMMBUYS will be reviewed and scored by the procurement team. Proposals not meeting mandatory requirements may be excluded from further evaluation unless satisfactory explanations and proposals for workarounds are included in bid documents.

(2) Demonstration. After responses received by the due date have been reviewed and scored by the procurement team, MassDEP may select, at its sole discretion, all, some or none of the Vendors (i.e., software publishers who have partnered with the ITS86 Resellers) to give a demonstration of their proposed solution.

i. Demonstrations will be scheduled in accordance with the timeline shown on the Estimated Procurement Calendar

ii. Bidders’ demonstrations shall take no more than two hours and may be conducted online with an audio bridge or in person, using laptop or remote systems.

iii. Demonstration and presentation must demonstrate, to the extent possible, how the software can be configured to meet the requirements stated in this RFQ.

iv. Demonstration and presentation must include a discussion of the Vendor’s approach to meeting mandatory requirements, including maintenance and support.

(3) Apparent Successful Bidder. Following the demonstrations (if any), MassDEP will re-evaluate and score Bidders’ responses and will select one (1) Bidder to provide its solution, pending mutual agreement on terms and an executed Contract. MassDEP will negotiate a Statement of Work (see Form 3 - Statement of Work Template) incorporating tasks and timelines for the initial installation, configuration, customization, modification, implementation, hosting, support, and maintenance of the software solution.

(4) Contract: The Contract resulting from this solicitation will include, but is not limited to, the negotiated and executed ITS86 Statement of Work between MassDEP, the ITS86 Software Provider (see Form 3 - Statement of Work Template), and any other negotiated agreements such as a Subscription Agreement and/or a Service Level Agreement, and attaching and incorporating the final versions of the Commonwealth’s Cloud and Risk Management Terms (see Form 2 - Could Terms Table). For a full description of the Contract documents, including Order of Precedence, see Section IV.

C. Estimated Term

The estimated initial term of any contract entered into under this RFQ shall be through June 30, 2028, with the option for one or more renewals through June 30, 2037. No extensions or renewals of the contract will be available beyond June 30, 2037.

D. Cost Response

The payment method will be fixed price, except as specified below in this section.

In addition to the required and specified mark-up cost permitted for resellers, each ITS86 Bidder must propose and submit a fixed price for the SaaS subscription, which includes software installation (if necessary), implementation, integration, configuration, modification, customization, testing and system acceptance, initial data upload (if necessary), hosting, warranty, maintenance and support, training, and documentation. The Bidder must also provide additional ongoing support and maintenance services.

The fixed price bid by each Bidder must be all-inclusive. Costs not specifically identified in a Bidder’s response and accepted by MassDEP will not be compensated under any contract awarded pursuant to this RFQ. As part of the RFQ Response, Bidders must complete and submit all items specified in Form 1 - RFQ Response Form.

MassDEP reserves the right to hire the winning Bidder, at the hourly rates included in its bid (or updated/negotiated rates as approved by MassDEP) or at a fixed price based on those rates, for additional work closely related to and within the scope of the project such as modifications or customizations to improve or expand the tracking system to accommodate regulatory amendments or otherwise improve the ability of the tracking system to support the program.

III. Requested Software & Services A. Description of Requested Software and Services

The Bidder must provide MassDEP with a complete allowance tracking software system to support the implementation of 310 CMR 7.74. The successful Bidder’s proposed SaaS system must provide cloud-based hosting and maintenance, as described in this RFQ, and adhere to the Commonwealth’s SaaS additional terms and conditions. Bidders should consider all the information provided in this RFQ, including the Overview set forth in Section II. of this RFQ, along with other relevant experience installing, configuring, customizing, modifying, hosting, and maintaining similar systems, to ensure that the system will support MassDEP’s program in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

The successful Bidder shall demonstrate relevant knowledge and successful experience, and shall provide software and services that provides, at a minimum, the following functionality in a manner that can support the successful implementation of 310 CMR 7.74:

For Regulated Entity Community:

· Create and manage secure accounts to allow regulated entities to hold and transfer serialized allowances in a manner consistent with all relevant requirements of 310 CMR 7.74(6)(c), including:

· Ability to create and maintain secure role-based accounts for up to 40 regulated entities that support up to 100 registered users (a regulated entity may have more than 1 registered user).

· Ability for regulated entities to transfer allowances among accounts and record additional information, such as comments and transaction prices.

· A mechanism to allow users to electronically sign and submit the required notice of transfer and certification statement.

· Ability to prevent regulated entities from transferring allowances during the month of March of each calendar year.

· Provide notifications to regulated entities via email, including verifications of all account changes such as changes to registered users, allowance allocations, deductions, transfers, etc.

· Allow registered users to upload and store documents in the system, such as forms that must be submitted to comply with 310 CMR 7.74.

For MassDEP Staff:

· Create secure role-based system accounts for 3 to 5 MassDEP staff.

· Allow authenticated MassDEP staff users to allocate allowances to, and deduct allowances from, accounts as required by 310 CMR 7.74(6)(a) and (g).

· Provide user notifications via email, including verifications of account changes such as allowance allocations, deductions, and transfers.

· Allow authenticated MassDEP staff to create reports necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, including reports of registered users, account balances, historical records of allowance transfers, and reported transaction prices.

The successful bidder shall propose functionality and a process for maintaining consistency and continuity with MassDEP’s existing allowance tracking system, as documented in the user guide posted on the website.

B. Optional/Desirable Software and Services:

Bidders may propose or describe software features included in the proposed software system that provide functionality in addition to the mandatory functionality requirements listed above. All additional features or modules must be included at no additional cost, as part of the competitive fixed price bid. Vendors who propose additional, optional functionality as part of the fixed cost bid may receive higher scores from MassDEP as part of the evaluation process. Some examples of optional, additional functionality include, but are not limited to the following items:

· Automated software functionality that can support the implementation of limits on “banking” and “borrowing” of allowances. Such functionality must address all relevant requirements of 310 CMR 7.74(6)(d) and (f).

· Automated software functionality that can support MassDEP’s administrative ability to create tiered roles for MassDEP staff users of the system, such as “read only” users.

· Automated software functionality that can create periodic reports regarding tracking allowances, such as reports of account balances or lists of registered users that may be accessed by the general public via the proposed system in a “read only” format.

· Automated and secure software functionality that can support the ability for MassDEP staff to upload information in bulk, such as allowance allocations.

· Automated software functionality that can allow MassDEP staff to post notices and documents for system users, and to notify users via email that a notice or document has been posted.

· Automated software functionality that can support other regulatory requirements of 310 CMR 7.74 such as submission of certificate of representation, emissions reporting, and compliance forms. Such functionality must address all relevant requirements of 310 CMR 7.74(7) and (9).

· Automated software functionality to allow a user to access multiple regulated entity accounts.

· Automated software functionality to allow the transfer of facilities among regulated entity accounts.

C. Required Implementation Services Plan:

The successful Bidder shall propose the following Implementation services as part of the software configuration and installation process (see also Form 3 - Statement of Work Template):

· Develop a Project Plan, with schedule and project methodologies to be mutually agreed upon by both parties; Project Plan shall include a timeline of milestones and deliverables, a description of methodology to meet the project schedule. The plan shall include management of status meetings, and management of risks.

· The Project Plan must include a list identifying any Vendor assumptions, including Vendor or MassDEP obligations that are necessary or critical for Vendor to successfully implement the system in order for the system to meet all the mandatory requirements.

· Consult with MassDEP to develop and document all system requirements to be implemented as part of this solution.

· Consult with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Information Technology Department (EEA IT, the oversight IT department for MassDEP) as required by MassDEP, to develop a mutually acceptable system design document that will meet all the system requirements and adhere to technical and data security standards and terms referenced in this RFQ.

· Configure the system according to specifications allowing for reasonable requested changes.

· Provide proof of delivery, and Bidder will perform testing of the interface and all core functionality before delivery to MassDEP.

· Provide opportunity for end user testing to ensure the system meets all required specifications and requirements.

· Provide system documentation, including user manuals.

· Provide System Design Document reflecting ‘as is’ state at system go live.

· Provide training.

· Ensure Accessibility of the system and all publicly accessible interfaces.

D. Maintenance and Support:

The successful Bidder must provide all IT support services for the proposed system, including but not limited to all the items listed in this section below. The Bidder must include in its proposal an unlocked, editable document containing all legal terms relating to Maintenance and Support services.

The bidder’s proposal must include a detailed, comprehensive approach to maintaining the system and its functions over the term of the contract, including extensions of the contract term, if/as applicable. Maintenance and Support services shall include:

(1) Cloud based Hosting (SaaS)

The Vendor’s proposal must describe their approach to the following maintenance and support services. All services must, at a minimum, meet all mandatory standards and terms referenced in this RFQ, including the following:

· Disaster recovery;

· Data Storage services;

· Maintenance of software and hardware; and

· Security administration services.

(2) Technical Support

The Bidder’s proposal must describe the support model relating to issue tracking and resolution. The Bidder must provide support materially equivalent to the following:

· Issue reporting and tracking via software that allows tracking of issues by both the Vendor and MassDEP staff.

· Telephone and email support during regular business hours (8:00 AM – 6:00 PM, EST Monday through Friday, excluding official Massachusetts holidays) for issue reporting, verification, and resolution, status and/or instruction as to workarounds, as applicable.

· Diagnosing and remedying issues, defects, and nonconformities and providing resolutions, and, to the extent expressly permitted by MassDEP, workarounds, within the periods of time that are specified in writing.

The Bidder’s proposal must describe the process to provide technical support to MassDEP, if any, in an emergency during non-business hours.

The Bidder’s proposal must describe the process for providing technical support to end users; end users are comprised of both MassDEP staff and the external Regulated Entity Community. The proposal must include a detailed description of the process. The description shall include, at a minimum, the following items:

· Direct phone or email support for MassDEP staff and all other system users.

· List of criteria used by Bidder to categorize the severity of reported issues or system defects.

· The Bidder’s performance objectives based on the issue severity.

· The Bidder’s issue escalation process, if MassDEP wishes to escalate a high impact issue.

· The Bidder’s issue resolution process, including communications and end user verification of issue resolution.

(3) System configuration and administration support

The Bidder’s proposal must include, for the duration of the contract, services for system configuration and administration support during regular business hours (8:00 AM – 6:00 PM, EST Monday through Friday). The Bidder’s proposal must also describe their process for providing system administrative support. The proposal should include a description, at a minimum, of the following items:

· The User Account and Password Management Process;

· The response process to address MassDEP’s requests for modifications to make changes to drop down list entries;

· The response process to address MassDEP’s Requests for routine configuration changes; and

· The System or technical support available to assist MassDEP’s reporting needs.

IV. Order of Precedence

The agreement resulting from this RFQ shall consist of the following documents in the following order of precedence:

V. Data Classification

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts collects, manages, and stores information to support its business operations. The Commonwealth is committed to preserving the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its information assets. Such information assets may include, without limitation, personal information, confidential information, and information protected under applicable law. Bidder agrees and acknowledges that its access, or potential access, to certain information assets may require certifications, background checks, or other additional requirements. Purchasing Entity anticipates that the awarded Bidder will have access, or potential access, to the following checked data types as a result of providing services/products to Purchasing Entity under this RFQ.

M. G. L. c. 66A

-Commonwealth of Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue background check

NCIC 2000 Operating Manual CJIS Security Policy Title 28, CFR Part 20 -Dept. of Criminal Justice Information certification -background check

NCIC 2000 Operating Manual CJIS Security Policy Title 28, CFR Part 20 -Dept. of Criminal Justice Information certification -background check

5 U.S.C. 552a s. 1106

VI. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

A. Enterprise Information Security Standards and Policies

All products and services provided to the Commonwealth must comply with all applicable policies adopted by the Purchasing Entity, which shall be made available to Bidder prior to contract execution. At a minimum, all goods and services provided to the Commonwealth must comply with the Enterprise Information Security Standards and Policies (https://www.mass.gov/handbook/enterprise-information-security-policies-and-standards)[footnoteRef:2]. Bidders shall provide information that demonstrates that their security practices meet the requirements detailed in these policies. [2: The Enterprise Information Security Standards and Policies apply to Commonwealth Executive Department Purchasing Entities and Purchasing Entities using the Commonwealth network.]

B. Accessibility for IT Solutions Contract Language

The Commonwealth is obligated to ensure non-discrimination and equal access to state services on the part of persons with a disability and reasonable accommodations to state employees with a disability. To effectively meet its responsibilities, the Commonwealth must achieve accessibility in the acquisition, deployment, and utilization of information technology. The Commonwealth defines accessibility to include compliance with its Enterprise Accessibility Standards and Web Accessibility Standards. Bidders must comply with the accessibility obligations detailed at https://www.mass.gov/service-details/accessibility-for-it-solutions-contract-language.

Bidders must include, at no additional cost and as part of their bid, licenses authorizing the Commonwealth personnel (including without limitation Agency personnel or its contractors) to test the software in accordance with the Enterprise Accessibility Standards, and to test for interoperability with the specific AT and IT environments set forth in the AT/IT Environment List. The software must be available to the Commonwealth for evaluation prior to the Purchasing Entity purchasing the software and on an ongoing basis after the Purchasing Entity has purchased the software.

C. Contract Negotiation and Amendments

The Purchasing Entity may negotiate changes to the original performance measures, quantities, Term length, and requirements identified in this RFQ at any time, provided that such changes are consistent with the scope of this RFQ. The Purchasing Entity may negotiate and execute contract amendments with the awarded Bidder(s) which the Purchasing Entity reasonably determines are within the scope of this RFQ and necessary to result in best value to the Commonwealth.

D. Promotional Materials

Bidder must not reference the Purchasing Entity or the Commonwealth in any promotional or marketing materials, including but not limited to use of the Purchasing Entity’s or the Commonwealth’s name or logo, without first obtaining the Purchasing Entity’s prior written approval for such use. Bidder must not use the Commonwealth’s seal in any promotional or marketing materials.

Bidders are discouraged from including extraneous promotional or marketing materials in their responses to this RFQ and excessive promotional or marketing materials may detract from the Bidders’ overall score.

E. Pending Litigation

Bidder must affirm that there is no pending litigation involving the Bidder, Provider, or the Solution provided in the response, that may impair or interfere with the Purchasing Entity’s right to use the Solution. Bidder must warrant that there are no actual or threatened actions arising from, or alleged under, any intellectual property rights of any third party.

F. Oral Presentations and Demonstrations

In its discretion, the Purchasing Entity may invite one or more Bidders whose responses have been judged competitive and responsive in the course of the evaluation to participate in a facilitated oral presentation, including a demonstration of the proposed Solution. The Purchasing Entity may use these demonstrations and oral presentations to clarify aspects of the Bidder’s response or to inquire as to the Bidder’s approach, recommendations, and experience. The Purchasing Entity may adjust its scoring of a prospective Bidder based on the Bidder’s performance during production demonstration and/or oral presentation.

The Purchasing Entity reserves the right to apply restrictions to the structure and content of Bidder’s product demonstrations and oral presentations. Demonstrations and oral presentations shall not be open to the public nor to any competitors. The schedule of the demonstrations and oral presentations will be arranged directly with the Bidders selected by the Purchasing Entity. Failure of a Bidder to agree to a date and time may result in rejection of the Bidder’s response.

Bidders must use publicly released products and operating systems in their demonstration. No pre-production products (e.g., “beta”) should be demonstrated. All Bidder-owned products used in the course of the demonstration must be listed and priced in the Cost Response (Form 3).

G. Review Rights

Responses to this RFQ may be reviewed and evaluated by any person(s) at the discretion of the Purchasing Entity including non-allied and independent consultants retained by the Purchasing Entity for the sole purpose of evaluating and analyzing responses.

H. Permitted Copies

At no additional cost, Bidders must authorize the Purchasing Entity to make, keep and retain a reasonable number of machine-readable copies of all core software components included in the Bidder’s Solution for testing, backup or archival purposes (the “Permitted Copies”).

At no additional cost, Bidders must include the Purchasing Entity licenses to implement a second instance of all core software components included in the Bidder’s Solution for disaster recovery purposes. In the event of a disaster recovery scenario, Bidder must authorize the Purchasing Entity to run such second instance without requiring any additional licenses or fees. Bidder must authorize the Purchasing Entity to make the Permitted Copies available to personnel at its disaster recovery site(s) who require use of such Solution to assist the Purchasing Entity with disaster recovery exercises.

I. Risk Management

Bidder must indicate the types of system audits or assessments (e.g. SOC 2) it conducts or engages third parties to conduct on its behalf, pertaining to the quoted products or services, and the frequency of such audits or assessments. Any time after submitting its Bid, upon Purchasing Entity's request, Bidder shall provide audit or assessment reports to the Purchasing Entity.

J. Warranties

Bidder shall provide all warranties listed below. Additional warranties may be agreed to in the contract resulting from this RFQ.

(1) Bidder must provide all warranties required by the applicable Statewide Contract.

(2) Bidder warrants that all software, software as a service, infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, and related services (collectively, the “Solution”) shall be provided in accordance with applicable State and Federal laws and in accordance with industry standards.

(3) Bidder warrants that all personnel performing services shall act with due diligence and care and are qualified to perform such services in accordance with industry standards. Bidder warrants that it shall be responsible for the actions and omissions of all subcontractors and shall ensure all subcontractors’ compliance with the terms of an agreement resulting from this RFQ.

(4) Bidder warrants that for a minimum period as provided in the applicable Statewide Contract (the “Warranty Period”) after the Purchasing Entity accepts any Solution, or for the entire duration of the subscription term to such Solution, the Solution delivered by Bidder under this RFQ will substantially conform to the applicable Specifications. As used in this RFQ, “Specifications” means (i) the requirements for the Solution set forth in this RFQ, (ii) the Solution’s functional, performance, and interoperability requirements set forth in any agreement entered hereunder; (iii) the Solution functionality and description provided in Bidder’s response to this RFQ, and (iv) to the extent not inconsistent with the foregoing, the Bidder’s published specifications and documentation for the Solution. If Purchasing Entity discovers a non-conformity in the Solution during the Warranty Period, then Bidder shall use commercially reasonable efforts to, at its option, (1) correct the non-conformity, (2) provide a work around or patch that is acceptable to the Purchasing Entity (a “Fix”), or (3) replace the Solution. If Bidder is unable to remedy a non-conformity within a reasonable period of time, Purchasing Entity may terminate any agreement related to the Solution effective immediately upon written notice to Bidder. In this event, Bidder shall promptly pay to Purchasing Entity an amount equivalent to all amounts paid by Purchasing Entity for (i) Solution license fees; (ii) maintenance, support and service fees; and (iii) all amounts already paid and not yet rendered for the Solution and/or services not yet delivered to and accepted by Purchasing Entity. Any replacement or error correction will not extend the original Warranty Period. During the Warranty Period, Bidder will not charge Purchasing Entity for services, parts, labor or transportation.

(5) Bidder warrants that all applicable agreements and terms will be provided in Bidder’s response. Bidder further warrants that the sale of the Solution and services, and the Purchasing Entity’s use of the Solution, will not be subject to any shrink-wrap, click-through, online terms, or similar agreements. Any terms or agreements that are not executed by an authorized signatory of the Purchasing Entity will be void.

(6) Bidder warrants that the Solution does not infringe on any existing intellectual property rights of any third party and that the Bidder has obtained all rights, grants, assignments, conveyances, licenses, permissions and authorizations necessary or incidental to any materials owned by third parties supplied or specified by it for incorporation into the Solution.

(7) Bidder warrants that it has made commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the licensed copy of the Solution provided to Purchasing Entity does not contain any virus, Trojan horse, worm or other software routines or equipment components designed to permit unauthorized access, to disable, erase, or otherwise harm software, equipment, or data (“Unauthorized Code”).

(8) Bidder warrants that it shall provide all necessary authorization codes necessary for successful installation of the Solution. Bidder also must also provide reauthorization codes to Purchasing Entity should such codes be necessary for the Solution to remain functional during the Term.

K. Environmental and Climate Preferable Products

Please visit the Environmentally Preferable Products Procurement Program’s IT Webpage to learn how Buyers may incorporate additional requirements, whether its purchasing third party registered IT equipment (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) or TCO) , requirements on cloud service centers, in addition to identifying and choosing vendors that foster a sustainable approach to conducting their operations. If the services will involve recommendations involving hardware, the vendor agrees that all recommended products are in compliance with the requirements of the appropriate OSD hardware contracts, https://www.mass.gov/info-details/information-technology-hardware.

In 2009, Executive Order 515, establishing an Environmental Purchasing Policy for Executive Departments, was signed. View the Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) Procurement Program General Information, Requirements and Guidance for detailed information about the program at https://www.mass.gov/doc/epp-general-information-requirements-and-guidance/download.

Bidders should also be aware that in 2021, Senate Bill 9 - An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy was signed to achieve Net Zero emissions in 2050 and furthers the Commonwealth’s efforts to combat climate change and protect vulnerable communities. The full Act may be viewed at https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S9. In 2021, Executive Order 594, Leading By Example: Decarbonizing and Minimizing Environmental Impacts of State Government, was signed. EO594 requires all eligible state agencies to assess and implement strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts when planning for and executing projects related to the design, construction, operations, and maintenance of state facilities, and the procurement of goods and services. View EO594: Leading By Example requirements at https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-594-leading-by-example-decarbonizing-and-minimizing-environmental-impacts-of-state-government.

L. Bidder Responses

Bidders must complete the RFQ Response Form (Form 1), a Cloud Terms Table (Form 2) if providing cloud-based products or services, a Statement of Work Template (Form 3) if providing professional services, a Risk Management Form (Form 4), and an SBBP (Form 5) if soliciting more than $5,000 but less than $250.000/year over the life of the contract.

The responses to this RFQ will be evaluated based on the criteria listed below, in descending order of importance with the most important criteria listed first. The procurement management team may remove from further consideration non-responsive bids and bids that do not include all required items. Prior to such an exclusion, the Purchasing Entity may request one or more clarification(s) from Bidder. A Bidder’s response may be excluded for failure to meet the Purchasing Entity’s budgetary thresholds.

Any remaining responses will be evaluated based upon:

1. Fit to Requirements of the RFQ

2. Quality of product functionality

3. Time for delivery

4. Price as provided in the Cost Table

VII. Bid Submission Requirements

A. Process Generally

As previously noted, all responses to this RFQ are due no later than the date and time listed in the Estimated Procurement Calendar above or they will not be evaluated. All RFQ Responses must be uploaded onto the COMMBUYS electronic posting system; hard copies of the RFQ Responses will not be accepted.

If any Bidder has any issues with responding through COMMBUYS, it should contact the COMMBUYS Help Desk at COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or call during normal business hours (8AM – 5PM Monday – Friday) at 1-888-627-8283 or 617-720-3197.

B. Content of Bidders’ RFQ Responses: Bidders’ RFQ responses should include the following:

(1) A cover letter in which the Bidder states that they agree to the terms of both ITS86 and this RFQ.

(2) A RFQ Response that includes a full description of all Required SaaS system and related services specified in this RFQ, and includes, if applicable, any optional functionality and/or services, that the Bidder proposes to provide.

(3) A Cost Response that utilizes the RFQ Response Template (Form 1) and includes all required cost components, as follows:

a. Fixed Cost Pricing for all System Software and related services described in this RFQ.

b. Annual pricing for use of software licenses, hosting, maintenance, and support services, including fixed costs as required in this RFQ and any optional annual costs, or costs that may be billed on a time and materials basis.

(4) An unlocked, editable copy of any relevant warranty, Enterprise End User Licenses agreements, maintenance agreement, technical support description and any other boilerplate forms related to the procurement of the Bidder’s proposed solution, submitted in MS Word format.

NOTE TO BIDDERS: the Commonwealth reserves the right to negotiate these terms to ensure consistency with all legal requirements of the Commonwealth as set forth in ITS86 and this RFQ.

(5) An express statement of the ITS86 Vendor’s agreement to enter into a Statement of Work in the form set forth in Form 3.

(6) Software Publisher documentation submission: Bidders must provide this documentation, if/as applicable, as part of their RFQ response.

C. Evaluation Criteria The responses to this RFQ will be evaluated based on the criteria listed below. The criteria are listed in descending or equal order of importance with the most important criteria listed first.

A Bidder’s response may be excluded for failure to meet one or more of mandatory requirements of this RFQ, including without limitation the requirements set forth in this RFQ.

Any remaining RFQ responses will be evaluated based upon the following criteria:

1. Technical responsiveness to Software/Services requirements: Whether the proposed software and related services are responsive to the requirements for the automated tracking system, as described above;

2. The Bidder’s proposed approach and timeline for the installation, configuration, testing, and implementation of the software and related professional services, based upon the completeness and feasibility of the draft project plan as submitted by Bidder.

3. Cost for all components proposed by the Bidder, based upon RFQ Response Form (Form 1).

4. References and prior relevant experience with similar projects.

ATTACHMENT A – COMMBUYS Instructions Interested Bidders must submit their response using COMMBUYS.

Useful links:

1. Job aid on how to submit a quote: https://www.mass.gov/doc/how-to-create-a-quote-in-commbuys/download

1. Webcast: How to Locate and Respond to Bid Solicitations., which will familiarize bidders with COMMBUYS terminology, basic navigation, and provide guidance for locating bid opportunities in COMMBUYS and submitting an online quote.

1. Bidders MUST have their complete bid fully loaded and submitted prior to the time and date listed in the calendar. COMMBUYS will not allow for bids to be submitted after the posted time.

Bidder may contact the COMMBUYS Help Desk at COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or call during normal business hours (8AM – 5PM, Monday – Friday) at 1-888-627-8283 or 617-720-3197.

Written questions via the Bid Q&A on COMMBUYS

The “Bid Q&A” provides the opportunity for Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers from the Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) regarding this Bid. All Bidders’ questions must be submitted through the Bid Q&A found on COMMBUYS (see below for instructions). Questions may be asked only prior to the Deadline for Submission of Questions stated in the Procurement Calendar. The issuing department reserves the right not to respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

Please note that any questions submitted to the SST using any other medium (including those that are sent by mail, fax, email or voicemail, etc.) will not be answered. To reduce the number of redundant or duplicate questions, Bidders are asked to review all questions previously submitted to determine whether the Bidder’s question has already been posted.

Bidders are responsible for entering content suitable for public viewing, since all of the questions are accessible to the public. Bidders must not include any information that could be considered personal, security sensitive, inflammatory, incorrect, collusory, or otherwise objectionable, including information about the Bidder’s company or other companies. The PMT reserves the right to edit or delete any submitted questions that raise any of these issues or that are not in the best interest of the Commonwealth or this Bid.

All answers are final when posted. Any subsequent revisions to previously provided answers will be dated.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Bidder to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Bidder’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Bidder’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded Bidder and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Locating Bid Q&A Log into COMMBUYS, locate the Bid, acknowledge receipt of the Bid, and scroll down to the bottom of the Bid Header page. The “Bid Q&A” button allows Bidders access to the Bid Q&A page.

ATTACHMENT B - DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY PROVISIONS

Where a third-party is contracted to deliver digital products or services to an executive department office or agency of the Commonwealth, the following contract language must be included in the Agreement in text, by link, or by addendum. This contract language applies to any Digital Asset procured to conduct business on behalf of the executive department of the Commonwealth, or used in the delivery of executive department programs, services, or activities. It also applies to other Commonwealth entities that voluntarily use or participate in services provided by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS).

Definitions

a. “Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR)” is a document that details how well a product or service meets an established accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). A completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Template or VPAT is often called an Accessibility Conformance Report.

b. “Accessibility Violation” is a failure to meet an established accessibility standard, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), or an instance of incompatibility with assistive technology.

c. "Automated Accessibility Testing" refers to accessibility testing using a scanning tool that examines code and flags violations of WCAG success criteria. Automated testing is limited in its ability to identify Accessibility Violations.

d. “Deliverable” refers to the digital products and/or services including but not limited to the end user and admin interfaces and any digital output it generates delivered by the vendor to the Commonwealth in connection with the solicitation.

e. “Digital Accessibility Roadmap” is a structured remediation plan that outlines how the vendor will improve the accessibility of its products, services, or digital content. For each Accessibility Violation, the roadmap includes the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) success criterion, component, location, violation description, severity level, status, target date for remediation, date remediated, and the technique used to remediate each violation.

f. “Digital Asset” refers to any item of value that exists in a digital format.

g. “Manual Accessibility Testing” refers to testing performed by a human tester using manual methods including the use of assistive technology.

h. “Vendor Digital Accessibility Questionnaire” refers to a series of written questions that are designed to assess a vendor’s capabilities at designing, developing, and delivering accessible digital products.

i. “VPAT” refers to the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template developed by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) in collaboration with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to help assess the accessibility of products.

j. “WCAG” refers to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

k. “Written Validation” refers to the documented confirmation that an Accessibility Violation has been successfully remediated. This validation is based on testing against criteria such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and includes the technique implemented to remediate the violation and the testing method used to validate conformance.

Digital Accessibility Standards

a. Deliverables must conform to the Digital Accessibility Standards as defined in the Enterprise Digital Accessibility Policy as it may be amended from time to time.

Accessibility Conformance Report

a. Upon request by the Commonwealth, the vendor shall provide a current Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), based on the latest version of the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) that evaluates conformance with WCAG 2.1 or WCAG 2.2 level A and AA success criteria. The Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) must meet the following requirements:

i. Be no more than 12 months old at the time of submission.

ii. Accurately reflect the product’s current state of accessibility.

iii. Be specific to the product or version proposed for use.

iv. Be completed by qualified personnel knowledgeable in digital accessibility and the digital product.

b. Failure to provide a current Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) that meets these requirements may result in disqualification of the vendor’s proposal, delay in contract execution, or cancellation of the contract.

Vendor Digital Accessibility Questionnaire

a. The vendor shall provide written responses to the Vendor Digital Accessibility Questionnaire upon request by the Commonwealth.

Digital Accessibility Roadmap

a. Upon request by the Commonwealth, for any known Accessibility Violation including those indicated on the ACR where a success criterion is “not met” or “partially met”, the vendor shall provide a Digital Accessibility Roadmap (the “Roadmap”). For each Accessibility Violation, the Roadmap must include the following items:

i. WCAG success criterion.

ii. Location of each Accessibility Violation (e.g., page…