IDNR Outdoor Connect RFP

The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) is soliciting proposals for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Outdoor Connect System, a comprehensive web-based platform to modernize and consolidate multiple administrative processes including product sales, licensing, permitting, reservations, and recreational vehicle registration. The proposed solution will support hunting and fishing licenses, recreational vehicle registrations, camping management, educational resources, and specialty permits with a goal of improving efficiency, data integration, transparency, and accuracy through a unified system. The Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on 09/22/2025, with a pre-submission conference scheduled for 10/07/2025, and proposals due on 01/07/2026. The anticipated contract start date is 07/01/2026, with an initial five-year term and potential renewal options for up to five additional years. The evaluation will be based on technical requirements (2,315 points), commitment to diversity (463 points), and pricing (556 points), with the top three scoring vendors required to provide a three-hour demonstration. The cloud-hosted solution must be compliant with state security requirements, support multiple web browsers and mobile platforms, and integrate with existing state systems like OKTA for authentication and SAP for financial tracking.

The contract includes a 3% Business Enterprise Program (BEP) goal for minority-owned businesses and a Commitment to Diversity (C2D) evaluation factor that can add up to 20% to a vendor's technical score. Vendors must demonstrate engagement with businesses owned by Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities (WMD) across six categories: BEP goal compliance, subcontracting, DEI spend, DEI time, DEI policies, and diversity in staffing. The current system is contracted with Tyler Technologies and previously with Aspira, covering hunting and fishing permits, watercraft registration, camping reservations, and off-highway vehicle permitting. The pricing template indicates estimated transaction volumes including 2,500,000 online/mobile billable items, 22,000 internal agent sales, 2,750,000 external agent sales, and various other transaction types. While specific budget ranges are not explicitly stated, the comprehensive nature of the system and the multi-year contract suggest a significant investment in modernizing IDNR's digital infrastructure and service delivery capabilities.