S000000463 ServiceNow.pdf

STATE OF ARKANSAS

DEPARTMENT OF SHARED ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

OFFICE OF STATE PROCUREMENT

501 Woodlane St., Ste. 220

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1023

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

SOLICITATION DOCUMENT

SOLICITATION INFORMATION

Solicitation Number: S000000463 Solicitation Issued: September 15, 2025

Description: ServiceNow Implementation and Managed Services

Department: Office of State Technology

PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND SUBMISSION OF RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

Proposal Due Date: October 8, 2025 Time: 2:00 PM, Central Time

Proposal submissions for this Request for Proposal must be submitted through ARBuy, the State’s eProcurement system, by the Proposal Due Date and Time. Proposals received after the Proposal Due Date and Time will be rejected as untimely. ARBuy can be accessed at arbuy.arkansas.gov.

LIVE PROPOSAL OPENING INFORMATION

Teams Meeting Link: Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 257 805 992 333 4 Passcode: TC97Te7G Call in (audio only): 501.244.3310 or find a local number

SAS OFFICE OF STATE PROCUREMENT CONTACT INFORMATION

SAS OSP Procurement Specialist: Taylor Watkins Procurement Specialist’s

Direct Phone Number: 501-683-6636

Email Address: Taylor.Watkins@arkansas.gov SAS OSP’s Main Number: 501-324-9316

SAS OSP Website: sas.arkansas.gov/procurement/ https://arbuy.arkansas.gov/ https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MjM5NmIyMjItOWQ1NC00MWJiLTk5ZmMtZjNmYWRhYWRlNGE2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%225ec1d8f0-cb62-4000-b327-8e63b0547048%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22758ab97c-e8c4-4fbc-8334-72be41d361fc%22%7d https://dialin.teams.microsoft.com/6b6513dc-a034-48d2-8d06-7e711c4ecc0b?id=719036839 mailto:Taylor.Watkins@arkansas.gov https://sas.arkansas.gov/procurement/

Rev 08/2025

SECTION 1 – GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued by the Arkansas Department of Shared Administrative Services, Office of State Procurement (OSP), for the Arkansas Department of Shared Administrative Services, Office of State Technology (OST), to obtain pricing and a contract(s) for ServiceNow Implementation and Managed Services.

Contract(s) will be awarded to the Prospective Contractor, determined to have submitted the proposal that is the most advantageous to the State. Direct all questions, comments, or concerns regarding this solicitation to the SAS OSP, not the Department.

1.2 TYPE OF CONTRACT

A. As a result of this RFP, SAS OSP intends to award a contract to a single Contractor.

B. The anticipated starting date for any resulting contract is December 01, 2025, except that the actual contract start date may be adjusted unilaterally by the State for up to three (3) calendar months. By submitting a signed proposal in response to the RFP, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants that it will honor its proposal as being held open as irrevocable for this period.

C. The initial term of the resulting contract will be for three (3) years. Upon mutual agreement by the Contractor and Department, the contract may be renewed by SAS OSP for up to four (4) additional one-year terms or portions thereof, not to exceed a total aggregate contract term of seven (7) consecutive years.

1.3 DEFINITION OF TERMS

A. Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms defined in Arkansas Procurement Law have the same meaning herein.

B. “Prospective Contractor” means a responsible offeror who submits a proposal in response to this Solicitation.

C. The terms “Request for Proposal,” “RFP,” and “Solicitation” are used synonymously in this document.

D. “Requirement” means a term, condition, provision, deliverable, Specification, or a combination thereof, that is obligated under the Solicitation, resulting contract, or both.

E. “Responsive Proposal” means a proposal submitted in response to this Solicitation that conforms in all material respects to this RFP.

F. “Shall” and “must” mean the imperative and are used to identify Requirements.

G. “Specification” means any technical or purchase description or other description of the physical or functional characteristics, or of the nature, of a commodity or service. “Specification” may include a description of any Requirement for inspecting, testing, or preparing a commodity or service for delivery.

H. “State” means the State of Arkansas. When the term “State” is used herein to reference any obligation of the State under a contract that results from this Solicitation, that obligation is limited to the Department using such a contract.

1.4 SOLICITATION SCHEDULE

For informational purposes, SAS OSP is providing a Solicitation Schedule; however, dates listed and noted with an asterisk (*) are anticipated dates only and are subject to change at the discretion of the State. All times are listed in Central Time.

TABLE A: TENTATIVE SOLICITATION SCHEDULE

ACTIVITY DATE

Deadline for Prospective Contractor Questions September 21, 2025 Answers to Questions Posted to ARBuy* September 25, 2025 Proposal Due Date October 8, 2025 @ 2 pm Initial Proposal Evaluation* October 10, 2025 Interviews* October 15, 2025 Final Proposal Evaluation* October 15, 2025 Discussions Kick Off Meeting* October 22, 2025 Finalize Discussions* October 29, 2025 Post Anticipation to Award* October 30, 2025 Award Contract* December 1, 2025

1.5 CLARIFICATION OF SOLICITATION

A. Submit questions requesting clarification of information contained in this Solicitation via the

Solicitation posting in ARBuy by the date and time listed in Table A.

1. For each question submitted, Prospective Contractor should reference the specific Solicitation item number to which the question refers, as applicable.

2. Prospective Contractors’ written questions will be consolidated and responded to by the State as deemed appropriate. The State’s consolidated written response is anticipated to be posted to the Solicitation posting in ARBuy by the close of business on the date provided in Table A. If Prospective Contractor questions are unclear or non-substantive in nature, the State may request clarification of a question(s) or decline to answer.

B. The Prospective Contractor should notify the SAS OSP Procurement Specialist of any Requirements that precludes the Prospective Contractor from submitting a Responsive Proposal.

C. Prospective Contractors may contact the SAS OSP Procurement Specialist with non-substantive questions at any time prior to the proposal opening.

D. An oral statement by SAS OSP will not be part of any contract resulting from this Solicitation and may not reasonably be relied on by any Prospective Contractor as an aid to interpretation unless it is reduced to writing and expressly adopted by SAS OSP.

E. Only an addendum written and authorized by the State will modify the Solicitation.

1.6 RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

A. All proposal responses must be submitted through ARBuy, the State’s eProcurement system. The system can be accessed at arbuy.arkansas.gov.

1. Prospective Contractors must be registered in ARBuy to submit proposals responses.

B. Technical Proposal Packet

1. Prospective Contractors shall utilize the Technical Proposal Packet to submit their responses.

2. The following items are proposal Submission Requirements and must be submitted as part of a Prospective Contractor’s proposal response.

a. Signed Proposal Signature Page; signature may be ink or digital.

b. Technical Proposal response to the Information for Evaluation section included in the Technical Proposal Packet, which must be in the English language.

https://arbuy.arkansas.gov/

c. Completed Official Solicitation Price Sheet attached to the Solicitation in ARBuy.

i. Pricing must be proposed in U.S. dollars and cents.

ii. Quantities stated are estimates only and are not guaranteed. Prospective Contractor must submit unit price on the estimated quantity and unit of measure specified.

• The State may order more or less than the estimated quantity on term contracts, and the Contractor shall sell to the Department quantities ordered at no more than the submitted price.

iii. If pricing documents do not allow for accurate pricing, Prospective Contractor should notify the OSP Procurement Specialist at least seventy-two (72) hours before the proposal opening time.

iv. Prices must be firm offers and adjustments may be negotiated at the time of contract renewal.

• A request for a price increase must include supporting documentation demonstrating that the increase in contract price is based on an increased cost to the Contractor and that the proposed pricing is still competitive in the marketplace. The State has the right to approve or deny any request for a price adjustment.

v. Discount from list pricing is not acceptable unless requested elsewhere in the Solicitation.

vi. State or local sales taxes should not be included in the price. Trade discounts should be deducted from the unit price and the net price should be shown in the pricing response.

d. Recommended Options Form

i. The Recommended Options form included in the Technical Proposal Packet allows Prospective Contractors to identify any recommended options or optional service ideas that may benefit the State that were not included in the Requirements and the proposed solution.

e. Copy of Prospective Contractor’s Equal Opportunity Policy

i. Pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-60-104, OSP requires a Prospective Contractor bidding on a state contract to submit a copy of the Prospective Contractor’s Equal Opportunity (EO) Policy.

ii. Prospective Contractors not required by law to have an EO Policy must submit a written statement to that effect.

f. Proposed Subcontractors Form (see SRV-1, section 14)

3. The following items, which must be submitted prior to a contract award to the Prospective Contractor, may also be included with the Prospective Contractor’s proposal:

a. EO 98-04: Contract and Grant Disclosure Form (see SRV-1, section 11)

b. Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), if applicable

4. Prospective Contractors should not include any other documents or ancillary information, such as a cover letter or promotional/marketing information.

C. Redacted copy of the Technical Proposal Packet

1. One (1) redacted (marked Redacted) copy of the Prospective Contractor’s proposal response (see Proprietary Information), if applicable.

D. Prospective Contractors should not alter language in Solicitation document(s) or Official Solicitation Price Sheet provided by the State.

https://sas.arkansas.gov/procurement/forms-and-reporting/#:%7E:text=Services%20Contract%20(SRV%2D1)%20Fillable%20Form https://sas.arkansas.gov/procurement/forms-and-reporting/#:%7E:text=Services%20Contract%20(SRV%2D1)%20Fillable%20Form https://www.section508.gov/sell/vpat/

E. Prospective Contractor’s proposals cannot be altered or amended after the proposal opening except as permitted by law or rule.

F. Prospective Contractors may submit multiple proposals.

SECTION 2 – REQUIREMENTS

2.1 BACKGROUND AND CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

In January of 2024, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders initiated the Arkansas Forward project to find efficiencies and savings across state government. Several findings and recommendations came out of that project focused on enhancing the efficiency, security, and oversight of IT services. One of those recommendations is a shared service delivery model and central governance structure to increase efficiency, improve oversight of IT operations, provide higher quality IT services, and protect IT resources across the state.

During the Spring 2025 Legislative Session, Acts 480 and 489 were passed, focusing on IT Governance and Cybersecurity. On June 11, 2025, Governor Sanders issued Executive Order EO 25-10 concerning modernizing and enhancing efficiency, security, and oversight of statewide IT services. OST was directed to lead the implementation of the Executive Order and take the following actions:

• Centralize IT administration

• Establish a statewide IT project management office

• Develop a centralized IT governance model

• Perform comprehensive IT assessments of IT and telecommunication assets and services

• Create a strategic IT consolidation plan

• Establish a centralized cybersecurity office Implementation of the ServiceNow platform and associated modules will be critical to successfully implementing the items laid out in Acts 480 and 489 and EO 25-10.

The mission of OST is to “Empower the citizens of Arkansas through Technology.” The agency hosts some of the state’s most critical applications, enabling citizens to access online systems for public services such as motor vehicle registrations, child support information, unemployment insurance claims, and public financial and food assistance programs, working 24/7/365 to ensure public services provided by state agencies, boards, commissions, K-12 public schools, cities, and counties are always available to the citizens of Arkansas.

OST provides information technology services to public entities that serve Arkansas’s citizens such as data center hosting services, network services, storage and backup services, voice services, operational services, and professional services. Examples include Data Storage, Network Security, Private Cloud for Public Sector, Email, Windows Desktop support, application development, and more.

The OST State Cybersecurity Office establishes security standards and policies for information technology in state government and serves as the focal point for cybersecurity issues. The office monitors and protects the state network and responds to any threats to the state’s technology infrastructure.

2.2 OBJECTIVE AND GOALS

OST is requesting proposals from qualified and experienced firms for a multi-phased implementation of the ServiceNow Enterprise Platform. OST is recommending implementation of the ServiceNow platform for all Cabinet Level Executive Branch Departments as a foundational step aimed at addressing core challenges to improve enterprise operations and digital transformation.

ServiceNow conducted a LEAP Discovery Workshop in May 2025. The State, with the help of ServiceNow, developed a comprehensive strategic blueprint and a series of detailed product roadmaps, including Platform/CSDM, IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Asset Management (ITAM), Security & Risk, and Public Sector Digital Services (PSDS), among others.

OST seeks a strategic partner to implement the initial "Do Now" capabilities across these roadmaps. The Contractor will partner with OST to configure and deploy a suite of integrated solutions that will serve as the cornerstone for future modernization, improved governance, and enhanced service delivery across the state agencies within the Executive branch.

The successful implementation of this enterprise initiative will be measured against the following strategic outcomes, as defined in our blueprint:

• Unified Platform Adoption & Centralized IT Request Management: Achieve 100% of new Information Technology (IT) service and procurement requests from the initial cohort of 15 departments being managed through the new platform.

• Optimized Procurement Efficiency: Realize a 25% reduction in the cycle time for IT procurement processes for onboarded agencies.

• Comprehensive IT Spend Visibility: Ensure a significant percentage of total statewide IT spend is visible and tracked through the platform's dashboard.

• Strengthened Strategic Alignment & Embedded IT Governance: Ensure new major IT projects initiated are logged and reviewed for strategic alignment within the platform.

2.3 PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

A. The Prospective Contractor shall be ServiceNow Public Sector Partner and an Elite or Global Elite

Service Now Partner…

B. The Prospective Contractor shall possess, at a minimum, the following certifications:

1. ServiceNow Certified Application Developer (CAD)

2. ServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist – Public Sector Digital Services (PSDS)

3. ServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist – Customer Service Management (CSM)

C. The Prospective Contractor shall possess, at a minimum, the following experience:

1. Ten (10) years of experience with ServiceNow platform

2. Four (4) years of experience deploying PSDS and/or CSM modules

3. Experience implanting at least two (2) public facing/citizen-facing State agency portals on the Service Now PSDS platform

4. Demonstrated experience in at least two (2) full lifecycle PSDS or CSM implementations

5. Proven ability to customize ServiceNow for public sector workflows and citizen engagement

2.4 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

A. The Contractor shall provide resources to plan, design, configure and deploy within the ServiceNow platform using customer, IT, and employee workflows.

B. The Contractor shall provide resources dedicated to assisting OST in all technical aspects of any assigned project.

C. The Contractor shall perform configuration and development activities specific to the ServiceNow solution, and in accordance with the mutually agreed upon requirements of OST.

D. The Contractor shall provide technical leadership and guidance on ServiceNow and ITIL best practices.

E. The Contractor shall provide overall service, including the service provided by each resource, that focuses on customer relationships and places an emphasis on teamwork.

F. The Contractor shall perform all work on the State’s instance of the ServiceNow environments from within the continental United States.

G. The Contractor shall deliver end-to-end ServiceNow solutions including design, implementation, and support.

2.5 PLATFORM IMPLEMENTATION AND CONFIGURATION

A. The Contractor shall plan, design, configure, test, and deploy the ServiceNow capabilities as outlined in the "Do Now" phase of the roadmaps provided.

B. ITIL and ServiceNow best practices must be followed, and workstreams may run parallel or sequential based upon dependencies.

C. Workstream 1: Platform & Common Service Data Model (CSDM)

1. Objective: Establish a single, federated Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and implement the CSDM framework as the authoritative data foundation.

2. The Contractor shall perform the following “Do Now" activities:

a. Implement CMDB/CSDM framework, focusing on the "Crawl" and "Walk" maturity stages to support initial process implementations.

b. Configure CSDM for Incident Management.

c. Deploy Employee Center as the unified portal for state employees.

d. Integrate with collaboration tools (Teams/Copilot/Slack).

e. Implement Digital Portfolio Management (DPM) to begin tracking the IT service portfolio.

D. Workstream 2: IT Service Management (ITSM)

1. Objective: Modernize core IT support processes to improve service delivery and efficiency.

2. The Contractor shall perform the following “Do Now" Activities:

a. Deploy Service Ops Workspace for IT support teams.

b. Implement Request Management to standardize and automate service requests.

c. Implement Incident Management to streamline the resolution of IT disruptions.

d. Implement Change Management to control and track system, service and application modifications.

e. Configure On-Call Scheduling to improve incident response times.

E. Workstream 3: IT Asset Management (ITAM)

1. Objective: Gain visibility and control over the state's IT asset lifecycle to optimize spending and reduce risk.

2. The Contractor shall perform the following "Do Now" Activities:

a. Implement Discovery and configure Service Graph Connectors to populate the CMDB.

b. Establish Asset Lifecycle management processes for hardware and software.

c. Deploy SaaS License Management to track and optimize software-as-a-service spend.

d. Implement Contract Renewals workflows to proactively manage vendor contracts.

F. Workstream 4: Integrated Risk & Security Operations (SecOps)

1. Objective: Establish a proactive and integrated approach to managing cybersecurity and enterprise risk.

2. The Contractor shall perform the following "Do Now" Activities:

a. Integrated Risk Management (IRM): Implement Risk Management, Policy & Compliance Management, and a foundational 360° View of risk.

b. Security Operations (SecOps): Implement Vulnerability Response and Security Incident Response to streamline the identification and remediation of threats.

G. Workstream 5: Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM)

1. Objective: Align IT investments and resources with the strategic priorities of the state.

2. The Contractor shall perform the following "Do Now" Activities:

a. Implement Demand Management to capture, assess, and prioritize all new IT work requests.

b. Deploy Innovation Management to capture and cultivate new ideas from across the enterprise.

H. Workstream 6: Procurement & Public Sector Digital Services (PSDS)

1. Objective: Modernize procurement processes and the delivery of digital services to constituents.

2. The Contractor shall perform the following "Do Now" Activities:

a. Procurement & Billing: Implement foundational Procurement, Vendor Management, Contract Management, Asset and Cost Management, and Proven Optics.

b. Public Sector Digital Services (PSDS): Deploy the Public Sector Digital Services Core application, configure Case Management for constituent services, and establish a unified Constituent experience and Govt agent experience.

I. Workstream 7: Now Assist (Generative AI)

1. Objective: Leverage generative AI to enhance productivity and user experience across the platform.

2. The Contractor shall perform the following "Do Now" Activities:

a. Deploy Now Assist for Search to improve self-service and knowledge discovery.

b. Implement Now Assist for ITSM to accelerate incident resolution and service request fulfillment.

c. Configure Now Assist Panel, Now Assist Analytics, and Now Assist Guardian to provide insights and ensure responsible AI usage.

2.6 MANAGED SERVICES

A. The Contractor shall be a managed services provider and shall provide administrative, end-user support and day-to-day management of the State’s ServiceNow platform instances until the State is able to onboard sufficient staff to take over day-to-day management of the platform.

B. The Contractor shall provide these services for a minimum of one (1) year.

C. The Contractor shall work side-by-side with OST resources as they are onboarded to teach and transfer knowledge about the required processes, procedures, and best practices.

D. Managed Services must include but not be limited to the following:

1. Emergency Support available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.

2. Regular support via phone and email during business hours (Monday- Friday 8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. Center Timex excluding State holidays)

3. Properly trained support staff in sufficient quantity to support the State

4. English speaking telephone staff

5. Management of the solution and user support

E. The State may, at its discretion, choose to cancel or reduce technical support at any time during the life of any resulting contract.

2.7 STAFFING REQUIREMENTS

A. The Contractor shall provide a Staffing Plan during the Discussions phase. The Staffing Plan must, at a minimum, meet the requirements set forth in this section of the RFP.

B. The Contractor shall include, in the Staffing Plan, a Project Manager.

1. The Project Manager shall possess at least three (3) years of project management experience working with the implementation of projects of similar size and scope to this RFP.

2. The Project Manager shall report to the State assigned Project Manager and manage the Contractor resources, produce project schedule/plan, status reports, attend meetings, and manage the software development life cycle.

3. The Project Manager shall coordinate with OST through a staff team to finalize a solution, implement technology components, and manage needed changes to project scope.

C. The Contractor shall include, in the Staffing Plan, individuals with sufficient technical expertise and experience to accomplish the Implementation and Testing Plan.

D. The Contractor shall provide staff with relevant certifications and experience.

E. OST shall have the right to approve or reject proposed staff members prior to the finalization of the plan after contract award.

F. The Contractor shall include, in the Staffing Plan, a provision to address the vacancies of the Project Manager or other key personnel.

1. In the event of the vacancy of a key person, the Contractor shall provide replacement candidates to OST for review within fifteen (15) calendar days of the Contractor learning of the vacancy.

2. OST shall have the right to approve or reject proposed replacements if they do not meet the minimum requirements set forth in the RFP.

G. The Contractor shall replace key personnel upon request by OST for justified reasons including, but not limited to, performance, behavior, and security.

H. The Contractor shall provide and maintain sufficient staffing resources to provide timely service for the life of any resulting contract.

I. The Contractor shall not propose resources who are currently engaged full time on other contracts with the State.

J. A single resource shall not hold more than one full-time position with the State.

K. At commencement of any resulting contract and prior to the hiring of staff, all individuals involved in any aspect of the process described in this RFP must undergo a background check conducted by

OST.

L. OST shall have the right to refuse personnel based on the results of the fingerprint-based background checks.

2.8 IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING

A. The Contractor shall provide a proposed Implementation and Testing Plan during the Discussions phase. The Implementation and Testing Plan must, at a minimum, meet all the requirements set forth in this section of the RFP.

B. The Implementation & Testing Plan must include a final acceptance testing phase in which the State can confirm that the system adheres to all contractual requirements. In the event the solution does not adhere to Contract requirements, the State may:

1. Grant the Contractor an opportunity to repair and/or modify the system and restart the testing; or

2. Upon mutual agreement, perform additional acceptance tests until the system(s) have operated within the specifications as stated in the Contract for thirty (30) consecutive days; or

3. Accept minor deviations from the specifications; or

4. Terminate the contract in its entirety

2.9 TRAINING AND DOCUMENTATION

A. The Contractor shall provide a proposed Training Plan during the Discussions Phase. The Training

Plan must, at a minimum, meet all requirements set forth in this section of the RFP.

B. The Training Plan must include a role-based training path for future staff onboarding.

C. The Contractor shall provide all training far enough in advance of the “Go-Live” phase of the proposed system such that all users required to be trained have had sufficient exposure to capably use the system.

D. The Contractor shall provide training for a minimum of 200 users.

E. The Contractor shall provide training that consists of “Train the Trainer” type sessions, so that users trained directly by the Contractor may go out and serve as trainers for other users.

F. The Contractor shall develop and provide curriculum and training materials for the “Train the Trainer” sessions, as well as the curriculum and materials that will then be used by State Trainers to train each specific user type.

G. The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, the following training materials:

1. User manual

2. Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

3. Helpline phone numbers and how to submit an electronic request for help

4. Web-based tutorials or instructional videos that must be available for the life of the contract

5. Website URLs or location information for all other online and printed resources

H. All training and training materials, whether online or in person, must be accessible by persons with disabilities such as blindness or deafness.

I. The Contractor shall assist the State in training administrators, platform owners, product/module owners, and end users in the use of the ServiceNow platform.

J. Assistance must include recommending which ServiceNow NowLearning materials should be assigned to which type of users and at what point in the project, so that users are trained incrementally as functionality is rolled out.

K. The Contractor shall provide documentation for standard operating procedures for day-to-day administrative and operational tasks.

2.10 DATA OWNERSHIP AND END OF CONTRACT TRANSITION

A. The State shall retain sole ownership, rights, title, and interest to all data collected and stored by the

Contractor under any resulting contract, excluding intellectual property and exclusions governed by applicable State and Federal laws.

B. Data use by the Contractor shall be limited to its sole use in the provision of the services anticipated by this RFP. Any other use of State data collected by the Contractor shall requires the express written approval of OST.

C. At the end of any resulting contract and after confirmed transfer of 100% of the State-owned data, deliverables, and products the Contractor has created, developed, produced, and managed while performing the services outlined in this RFP back to the State or their designee, the Contractor shall certify destruction of all copies of the State-owned data the Contractor possesses.

D. The Contractor shall ensure all data received as part of any resulting contract is used solely for the purpose of any resulting contract and not shared, reused, or disseminated to any other party or entity without the express written consent of the OST designated representative or as otherwise required under applicable State and Federal laws.

E. Upon termination or expiration, should any subsequent contract for this or similar services be awarded to a provider other than the Contractor, the Contractor shall, to the greatest extent possible and reasonable, cooperate with the OST in initiating a smooth and orderly transition to the next Contractor.

2.11 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

A. State law requires that qualifying contracts for services include Performance Standards for measuring the overall quality of services that a Contractor shall provide.

B. The State may be open to negotiations of Performance Standards prior to contract award, prior to the commencement of services, or at times throughout the contract duration

C. Performance Standards shall not be amended unless they are agreed to in writing and signed by the parties.

D. Failure to meet the minimum Performance Standards as specified will result in the assessment of damages.

E. In the event a Performance Standard is not met, the Contractor will have the opportunity to defend or respond to the insufficiency. The State has the right to waive damages if it determines there were extenuating factors beyond the control of the Contractor that hindered the performance of services. In these instances, the State has final determination of the performance acceptability.

F. Should any compensation be owed to the Department due to the assessment of damages, Contractor shall follow the direction of the Department regarding the required compensation process.

SECTION 3 – SELECTION

3.1 SELECTION PROCESS

A. SAS OSP will review each Technical Proposal Packet to verify Submission Requirements have been met. Technical Proposal Packets that do not meet Submission Requirements will be rejected and will not be evaluated.

1. The State may conduct cost checks based on the cost submitted by each Prospective Contractor on the completed pricing response.

a. Prospective Contractors submitting Responsive Proposals with a proposed cost that falls twenty-five percent (25%) or more from the average submitted cost may be asked to justify their submitted cost.

b. Should SAS OSP request clarification and/or additional information regarding cost, Prospective Contractors shall provide clarification and/or additional information as specified by the request.

B. A Department-appointed Evaluation Committee will evaluate and score Responsive Proposals.

Evaluation will be based on the Prospective Contractor’s response to the Information for Evaluation section included in the Technical Proposal Packet and the pricing submitted by the Prospective Contractor.

1. Cost information will be provided to the members of the Evaluation Committee (Evaluators) to allow them to determine which proposal(s) is the most advantageous to the State.

2. Evaluators will individually review and evaluate proposals and complete an Individual Score Worksheet for each proposal. Individual scoring for each Evaluation Criteria will be based on the scoring description in Table B: Scoring Table.

TABLE B: SCORING TABLE

SCORE DESCRIPTION

10 The response provides metrics clearly establishing that the Prospective Contractor is reliable and capable of fully performing the required services.

The response provides metrics suggesting that the Prospective Contractor’s level of performance may be acceptable, but it does not clearly establish that the Prospective Contractor is reliable and capable of fully performing the required services.

0 The response provides metrics clearly establishing that the Prospective Contractor is unreliable and incapable of fully performing the required services.

3. After initial individual evaluations are complete, the Evaluators will meet to discuss their individual scores. At the initial consensus meeting, each Evaluator will be afforded an opportunity to discuss his or her score for each evaluation criteria.

4. After Evaluators have had an opportunity to discuss their individual scores with the committee, the Evaluators will be given the opportunity to change their initial individual scores, if they feel that is appropriate.

5. The final individual scores of the Evaluators will be recorded on the Consensus Scoresheets and averaged to determine the group or consensus score and rank for each proposal.

6. Other agencies, consultants, and experts may also examine documents at the discretion of the Department.

C. Prospective Contractors submitting Responsive Proposals will be contacted by SAS OSP to schedule an interview.

1. Prospective Contractors shall attend the interview as scheduled by SAS OSP.

2. Evaluators will complete an Individual Score Worksheet for each interview. The evaluation will be based on the Prospective Contractor’s responses to questions presented during the interview.

Individual scoring for each interview will be based on the Scoring Descriptions in 3.1.B.1.

3. During a final consensus meeting, after all interviews are complete, Evaluators will have the opportunity to discuss the interviews and change their individual interview scores on the Consensus Scoresheet, if they feel that is appropriate.

a. The final individual scores of the Evaluators will be recorded on the Consensus Scoresheets and averaged to determine the group or consensus score and rank for each proposal.

4. Should the State receive only one (1) Responsive Proposal, the State may forgo the interview portion of the evaluation if the proposal has received the Maximum Weighted Score Possible for the Experience, Solution, and Risk subsections.

a. In this scenario, the proposal would automatically receive the maximum weighted score possible for the interview subsection.

D. Should the State request clarification and/or additional information Prospective Contractors’ responses, Prospective Contractors shall provide clarification and/or additional information as specified by the State.

E. SAS OSP will submit responses and pricing received from the interviewed Perspective Contractors, along with the Evaluation Committee’s recommendation to the Department for review and approval to move into Discussions.

3.2 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL SCORE

A. The Information for Evaluation section has been divided into subsections.

1. Each subsection has been assigned a maximum point value of ten (10) points. The total point value for each subsection is reflected in the table below as the Maximum Raw Points Possible.

2. The Department has assigned Weighted Percentages to each subsection according to its significance.

INFORMATION FOR EVALUATION

SUBSECTIONS

MAXIMUM

RAW

POINTS

POSSIBLE

SUBSECTION’S

WEIGHTED

PERCENTAGE

* MAXIMUM

WEIGHTED

SCORE

POSSIBLE

Experience 10 30% 210 Solution 10 25% 175 Risk 10 10% 70 Interview 10 35% 245

Total Technical Score 40 100% 700 *Subsection’s Percentage Weight x Total Technical Maximum Weighted Score = Maximum Weighted Score Possible for the subsection.

B. The proposal’s weighted score for each subsection will be determined using the following formula:

(A/B)*C =D

A = Actual Raw Points received for subsection in evaluation B = Maximum Raw Points possible for subsection C = Maximum Weighted Score possible for subsection D = Weighted Score received for subsection

C. The proposal’s weighted scores for subsections will be added to determine the Total Technical Score for the proposal.

3.3 COST SCORE

A. When scores are applied to pricing, the maximum amount of cost points will be given to the proposal with the lowest XXXXX year grand total as shown in Table One (1) on the completed Official Solicitation Price Sheet. (See Grand Total Score for maximum points possible for cost score.)

B. The amount of cost points given to the remaining proposals will be allocated by using the following formula:

(A/B)*C =D

A = Lowest estimated cost B = Second (third, fourth, etc.) lowest estimated cost C = Maximum Points for lowest estimated cost D = Total price points received

3.4 GRAND TOTAL SCORE

The Technical Score and Cost Score will be added together to determine the Grand Total Score for the proposal. The State may move forward to Discussions with the Prospective Contractor determined reasonably susceptible of being selected for award.

MAXIMUM

POINTS

POSSIBLE

Technical Proposal 700

Cost 300

Maximum Possible Grand Total Score 1,000

3.5 EXPLANATION OF THE SUBSECTIONS OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

A. Experience

1. The Experience subsection included in the Technical Proposal Packet allows Prospective Contractors to differentiate themselves based on their experience, technical capability, and understanding of the State’s specific needs.

2. Prospective Contractors should identify expertise in the form of a claim and provide relevant experience to support each claim.

3. Prospective Contractors should use verifiable metrics (number of accounts, size of accounts, years of experience, customer satisfaction ratings) to support each claim.

B. Solution

1. The Solution subsection included in the Technical Proposal Packet allows Prospective Contractors to differentiate themselves based on their proposed solution and/or approach to solve the State’s specific needs.

2. Prospective Contractors should provide a high-level overview of the Prospective Contractor’s proposed solution and/or approach to services using the Requirements outlined in the RFP.

3. Proposed solutions should be non-technical and include the Prospective Contractor’s recommendations for meeting the objectives and Requirements of the RFP.

4. Additional service options and recommendations above and beyond those included in proposed solution should be included in the Recommended Options Form.

C. Risk

1. The Risk subsection included in the Technical Proposal Packet allows Prospective Contractors to identify and prioritize major risks that they reasonably foresee could potentially prevent or impair the Prospective Contractor’s delivery of the solution as offered in the proposal or to otherwise fail to meet the State’s desired outcome, specifications, and performance standards, and how they will mitigate, manage, and/or minimize each risk listed.

a. Prospective Contractors should include sources, causes, or actions that are both within and beyond the control of the Prospective Contractors that they reasonably foresee may cause cost increases, delays, amendments, or dissatisfaction to the State.

b. Risks should be described in simple, clear, and non-technical terms.

c. Prospective Contractor should explain how the Prospective Contractor will mitigate, manage, and/or minimize each risk listed.

i. The Documented Performance cell should include details such as how many times any identified risk was previously mitigated and the impact on the Prospective Contractor’s performance in terms of time, cost, and client satisfaction.

D. Interview

1. The Interview will allow Prospective Contractors to further demonstrate their experience in providing the services outlined in the RFP.

a. Each Prospective Contractor meeting the Submission Requirements will be contacted by SAS OSP to schedule an interview. Prospective Contractors shall attend the interview as scheduled by SAS OSP.

b. Prospective Contractors shall identify one (1) Project Lead at the time of interview confirmation who shall attend the interview as part of the evaluation process.

c. The Evaluation Committee will interview the Prospective Contractor’s identified Project Lead using a pre-determined set of interview questions. Follow up questions may be asked based on responses given by the Project Lead.

3.6 DISCUSSIONS

A. The State will move forward into Discussions with the responsible Prospective Contractor(s) whose proposal(s) have been determined to be reasonably susceptible to being selected for award.

B. Discussions may be conducted with the highest-ranking Prospective Contractor based on the Grand Total Score for each proposal or with multiple Prospective Contractors reasonably susceptible of being awarded a contract.

C. Should the State choose to engage in Discussions with the highest-ranking Prospective Contractor, the Prospective Contractor invited to participate in Discussions shall provide all documents required during Discussions.

1. Should the Department determine, through the Discussions process, that the Prospective Contractor’s solution, approach, timelines, deliverables, expectations of the State, or a combination thereof make the Prospective Contractor no longer reasonably susceptible of being awarded a contract, the Department may abandon Discussions with that Prospective Contractor through a written justification to SAS OSP, and may proceed to additional rounds of Discussions with the next highest-ranking Prospective Contractor.

D. Should the State choose to engage in Discussions with multiple Prospective Contractors contemporaneously, each Prospective Contractor invited to participate in Discussions shall provide all documents required during Discussions.

1. Should a Prospective Contractor not provide the required documents within timeframes requested by SAS OSP or choose not to engage in the Discussions process, the Prospective

Contractor’s proposal will be considered withdrawn and will not be subject to further consideration in the Solicitation process.

E. If Discussions necessitate material revisions of proposals, each responsible Prospective Contractor reasonably susceptible of being awarded a contract will be provided an opportunity to revise its proposal for the purpose of submitting a best and final offer.

F. During the Discussions Kick Off Meeting, the Prospective Contractor shall provide the following documents to the State:

1. A detailed scope of work clearly identifying the Prospective Contractor’s understanding, implementation, and performance of services required in this RFP, including all activities required by the Contractor and all activities expected by the State/Participating Entities

2. A Risk Management Plan intended to mitigate any risks, including but not necessarily limited to, the risks identified in the Risk Plan submitted in the Prospective Contractor’s Technical Proposal Packet

3. A proposed financial summary, including:

a. The completed pricing response and Recommended Options Form submitted in the Prospective Contractor’s Technical Proposal Packet

b. A proposed payment schedule

4. Proposed project management and reporting templates

G. During the Discussions Kick Off Meeting, the Prospective Contractor shall address questions and/or concerns the State may have to the satisfaction of the State.

H. During Discussions, the Prospective Contractor shall revise the discussions documents until agreement is made and the State has provided final approval.

1. The Prospective Contractor shall attend follow up Discussions meeting as determined necessary by the State. Reasonable effort will be made to accommodate scheduling conflicts.

I. During Discussions, the Prospective Contractor shall present a final draft of the Discussions documents to the State, including, at minimum:

1. A summary of all plans and scope of work developed during the discussions process and mutually agreed upon by the State and the Prospective Contractor

2. A detailed scope of work clearly identifying the Prospective Contractor’s implementation and performance of services required in this RFP, including all provisions negotiated and agreed upon by the State and the Prospective Contractor since the Discussions Kick Off Meeting

3. Description of deliverables in terms of simplified metrics

4. The Risk Management Plan

5. Project management and reporting templates

6. Financial summary, including:

a. The completed pricing response submitted in the Prospective Contractor’s Technical Proposal Packet

b. A list of agreed upon and accepted recommended options (with impact to price)

c. A payment schedule

d. Contact information for the Prospective Contractor’s key personnel

J. During Discussions, the Prospective Contractor shall present the final drafts of the items and shall summarize the coordination and planning completed during the discussion process.

K. Once approved by the State, final drafted documents will become part of the resulting contract.

L. The Prospective Contractor may determine which key personnel will attend the Discussions meetings.

3.7 ANTICIPATION TO AWARD

A. Once an anticipated Contractor has been determined, the anticipated award will be posted to the

Solicitation posting in ARBuy by the date and time listed in Table A.

1. It is the responsibility of Prospective Contractors to check the ARBuy website for the posting of an anticipated award.

B. Anticipated awards will generally be posted for a period of fourteen (14) days prior to the issuance of a contract. These notices are anticipated awards only and are subject to protest.

C. A contract resulting from this Solicitation is subject to State review and approval processes prior to award, which may include Legislative review.

3.8 PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR ACCEPTANCE OF EVALUATION TECHNIQUE

The submission of a Technical Proposal Packet signifies the Prospective Contractor’s understanding and agreement that some subjective value judgments will be made during the evaluation and scoring of the technical proposals.

SECTION 4 – SOLICITATON TERMS AND CONDITIONS

4.1 ACCEPTANCE OF REQUIREMENTS

A. A Prospective Contractor's past performance with the State may be used to determine if the Prospective Contractor is responsible (19 CAR § 1-401).

1. Proposals submitted by Prospective Contractors determined to be non-responsible will be rejected.

B. A single Prospective Contractor must be identified as the prime contractor.

1. The prime Contractor shall be responsible for the resulting contract and jointly and severally liable with any of its subcontractors, affiliates, or agents to the State for the performance thereof.

C. By submission of a proposal, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants:

1. That the prices in the proposal have been arrived at independently, without any collusion with another competing Prospective Contractor.

a. Collusion violates Arkansas Procurement Law and can lead to suspension, debarment, and can be referred to the Attorney General’s officer for investigation and appropriate legal action (Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-61-403 and 19-61-702).

2. That the Prospective Contractor has not retained a person to solicit or secure the resulting contract upon an agreement or understanding for a commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee, except for retention of bona fide employees or bona fide established commercial selling agencies maintained by the Prospective Contractor for the purpose of securing business.

D. Prospective Contractor should not discuss the Solicitation or proposal response, issue statements or comments, or provide interviews to public media during the Solicitation and award process.

E. Qualifications and services must meet or exceed the required Specifications as set forth in the Solicitation.

F. The State will not pay costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal.

4.2 GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. The Contractor must be registered as a vendor to receive payment and may register online by visiting https://www.ark.org/vendor/index.html and clicking the Start Here button.

B. All payments to the Contractor under the resulting contract shall be made exclusively through ACH (Automated Clearing House) direct deposit.

1. The Contractor shall provide the necessary banking information, including account number, routing number, and any other details required to facilitate ACH direct deposits.

2. The Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that the provided banking information is accurate and up to date. Any delays or errors in payment caused by incorrect or outdated information provided by the Contractor shall not be the responsibility of the Department.

3. The Department will process payments according to the agreed payment schedule, and all payments made via ACH direct deposit shall be considered as duly received upon successful transmission to the Contractor’s designated bank account.

C. Pursuant to Arkansas State Procurement Law, the Contractor shall in all other respects comply with the laws, rules, and executive orders of the state that apply to the Contractor’s performance under a resulting contract.

D. Pursuant to Arkansas State Procurement Law, the Contractor shall certify that, unless they offer to provide the goods or services for at least twenty percent (20%) less than the lowest certifying Prospective Contractor:

https://www.ark.org/vendor/index.html

1. They are not engaged in and shall not, during the aggregate term of the resulting contract, engage in a boycott of Israel (Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-1-503),

2. They are not engaged in and shall not, during the aggregate term of the resulting contract, engage in a boycott of an Energy, Fossil Fuel, Firearms, or Ammunition Industry (Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-1-1102).

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