Cannabis Integration System (CSI) - DCC

The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), through the California Department of Technology (CDT) Office of Statewide Technology Procurement (OSTP), is requesting proposals for Cannabis System Integration (CSI) services—consolidation of two separate Accela licensing platforms into a unified Software as a Service solution—with proposals due September 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM Pacific Time and demonstrations scheduled October 29 through December 3, 2026. This is a competitive negotiation procurement with a single award.

The DCC currently operates the Cannabis Licensing, Enforcement, and Reporting (CLEaR) system and the Cultivation Licensing System (CLS) as separate Accela instances managing cannabis retailer, distributor, laboratory, transporter, microbusiness, event organizer, and manufactured cannabis licensure; cultivation oversight; and compliance and enforcement activities. The scope requires design, development, implementation, and operation of a unified system addressing 200 functional and non-functional requirements across compliance, global, and licensing categories, with mandatory and mandatory-optional requirements. Bidders must respond "Y" or "N" to all mandatory and mandatory-optional requirements and specify whether each will be met out of the box, through minor configuration/development (up to 20 hours), major configuration/development (21–39 hours) or third-party tools, or customization (more than 40 hours). Key demonstration requirements include entity registration and search using multiple identifiers, workload dashboards, concurrent analyst assignment, document management with automated metadata, public license search, complaint submission, mobile and handheld access, license-type modification to accommodate legislative changes, and AI-enabled quality checks and communication assistance. Additional requirements (5 designated "TBD") are pending state review of bidder out-of-box capabilities.

The contract base term is 3.5 years (42 months) with two optional one-year renewal periods. The cost structure includes fixed-price deliverables subject to 20 percent state holdback, licensing and hosting costs for the 30-month base period plus 12 months of maintenance and operations, and optional one-year maintenance periods. Continuous enhancements and statutory/regulatory changes are estimated at $2.48 million (base), $1.59 million (optional year one), and $835,000 (optional year two). Bidders must submit hourly rates for project managers, technical leads, configuration leads, business analysts, developers, configurators, and scrum masters applied to state-determined allocations. Phase 1 deliverable costs may not exceed 60 percent of total base contract deliverable costs. Cost is weighted at 40 percent of total evaluation score; technical merit, qualifications, and administrative compliance form the remainder. All-inclusive pricing must be submitted in the prescribed Excel cost workbook without sales tax.

Five key staff positions are mandatory: Project Manager, Scrum Master, Business Analyst Lead, Configuration Lead, and Technical Architect Lead. Each position carries specific mandatory qualifications (bachelor's degree, years of experience as the role on large-scale complex IT projects, team oversight or leadership experience, and full-lifecycle delivery or technical expertise); some positions include desirable qualifications offering scoring points (one to three years on cannabis licensing and compliance systems implementation, worth up to six points at two points per year). Bidders must provide completed Key Staff Qualifications Forms for each project cited, supported by reference forms completed by supervisors or managers from the end-user organization who held management, supervisory, or Product Owner roles. References rate staff across four competency dimensions (overall performance, communication, conflict management, role effectiveness) on a scale yielding up to 32 points per reference.

Small Business (SB) five-percent preference applies if the bidder is DGS-certified or subcontracts at least 25 percent of contract revenue to certified SB subcontractors. Non-small business bidders with 25 percent certified SB subcontractor participation also receive five-percent preference. A Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) incentive is available; DVBE participation requirement has been waived, but bidders may claim incentive status through certified DVBE subcontractor participation performing commercially useful functions. Bidders claiming SB or DVBE preferences must complete the Commercially Useful Function (CUF) Certification form (Attachment 11) and associated declarations. Target Area Contract Preference Act (TACPA) preference is available for qualifying firms on contracts exceeding $100,000. All preference and incentive claims must be documented in the proposal.

Bidders must obtain an OSTP-approved eVAQ prior to proposal submission and demonstrate productive use of proposed equipment and software—for critical software exceeding $100,000, at least six months of productive use prior to proposal submission; customer references must be provided on the Productive Use Certification form (Attachment 19). Administrative submissions include Intent to Bid (Attachment 2), Follow-On Contract Disclosure (Attachment 3), Cover Letter (Attachment 4), Response to Administrative Requirements (Attachment 5), Confidentiality Statement (Attachment 6), GSPD-05-105 Bidder Declaration (Attachment 7), Workers' Compensation Certification (Attachment 8), Bidding Preferences and Incentives Declaration (Attachment 9), and DVBE Declarations if applicable (Attachment 10). Bidders must complete a Bidder Qualifications Form (Attachment 14) for each project demonstrating prime contractor experience within eight years, with references from management or supervisory end-user personnel scoring bidder performance across ten dimensions (implementation capability, milestone delivery, quality, resource management, personnel skill, professionalism, responsiveness, change management, organizational accommodation, overall performance) on an 80-point scale.

Technical proposals are limited to 60 pages (excluding tables of contents) in PDF format using 11-point Century font with one-inch margins. Proposals must address Statement of Work tasks, phased 30-month implementation, system integration strategy, training alignment with phased delivery, and production support during parallel implementation. Up to two pages of diagrams per response are permitted (100 words per page including labels). Project schedules must be submitted in Microsoft Project 2010 or another agreed-upon format detailing tasks, resources, dependencies, and milestones. Narrative evaluation allocates up to 335 points: 165 for project work methodology, 105 for project schedule, and 65 for post-project tasks (knowledge transfer and maintenance transition).

Demonstration scripts (Attachment 18) detail ten functional and non-functional requirements bidders must demonstrate through user stories and expected results. The solution must address NIST Special Publication 800-53 Revision 5 security standards, include encryption using FIPS-compliant methods, undergo annual penetration testing and quarterly vulnerability scans, maintain physical data centers within the continental United States, prohibit use of state data for AI or machine learning model training, and maintain 24-hour incident notification protocols and cyber liability insurance with minimum coverage of $5 million per occurrence. Contractor bears all costs arising from security incidents caused by its negligence.

Deliverables include a Data Conversion Plan (30 days post-award), Project Schedule (one month), and technical documents due at 12 months (System Development, Security, Technical Design, Functional Design, Maintenance and Operations, and Disaster Recovery Plans). Bi-weekly schedules and monthly status reports are required throughout the contract. Sprint deliverables (Sprint Backlog, Acceptance Criteria, Test Scripts, Test Results, Status Reports) follow each sprint. Training deliverables include a Knowledge Transfer and Training Plan and Delivery Evaluation Summary Report at 12 months. A Go-Live Plan is due at 12 months; a Go-Live Report at 18 months. Full System Acceptance Attestation Letter is due upon project completion. All deliverables are subject to formal written State acceptance against Deliverable Expectation Document (DED) criteria; payment is fixed-price per milestone upon acceptance, with modifications requiring written amendment by both parties.

Best and Final Offer (BAFO) submissions are anticipated January 5–11, 2027, with contract award notification estimated March 24, 2027. Negotiations are scheduled December 11, 2026 through January 1, 2027.