SWC 387 Managed Service Provider For Statewide Contingent Workforce Services-UPDATED

The State of Tennessee, Department of General Services, Central Procurement Office is soliciting proposals for a single Managed Service Provider (MSP) to deliver statewide contingent workforce services under RFP 32110-38726. The MSP will manage both a Staff Augmentation Program for hourly contingent workers and a Projects-Based/Deliverables Staffing program (capped at $1,000,000 per project) across four job categories: Information Technology, Medical, General Administration, and Language and Communication Assistance Services. The selected contractor must establish and manage a sub-vendor network, administer contingent worker engagement, and implement a Vendor Management System (VMS) within two weeks of contract commencement to support forecasting, compliance tracking, performance monitoring, and comprehensive reporting. Key qualifications include financial stability documentation, IT security compliance with NIST 800-53 controls and ISO/IEC 27001 certification, conflict of interest disclosures, and the ability to maintain at least one on-site representative for face-to-face support. Evaluation criteria consist of General Qualifications and Experience (5 points), Technical Qualifications, Experience and Approach (50 points), Oral Presentation (15 points), and Cost Proposal (30 points), for a maximum score of 100 points. The pre-response conference is scheduled for May 19, 2026; written questions are due by May 28, 2026; and technical proposals are due June 26, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Central Time. Finalists (top four ranked respondents) must participate in mandatory oral presentations July 27-31, 2026, with cost proposals opening August 4, 2026, cost negotiations occurring August 6-11, 2026, and a Notice of Intent to Award released August 13, 2026.

The current MSP contract, held by an incumbent contractor since March 1, 2022, expires February 28, 2027, with historical spending data showing total state expenditures of approximately $451.4 million across 2023-2025 (Medical services at $203.5 million and Information Technology at $168.2 million representing the largest categories). The RFP does not specify set-asides for disadvantaged enterprises or restrictions on respondent types, though the State reserves the right to reject all responses or award to a respondent other than the lowest cost bidder if justified with Chief Procurement Officer and Comptroller approval. The State estimates total purchases of $1,000,000,000 during the sixty-month contract term (with two optional twelve-month renewal periods and one optional 180-day extension, not to exceed eighty-four months total), though no minimum purchase volume is guaranteed. The MSP fee shall be submitted as a percentage of the Maximum Bill Rate and will be evaluated on a cost basis where the lowest proposed cost receives the maximum 30 points. Performance metrics include 92% or higher response times for requisition confirmations and resume submissions, normal fill rates of 92% or higher, attrition rates of 8% or lower, and quarterly reporting on usage, diversity metrics, sub-vendor performance, and cost savings. The contractor must maintain cyber liability insurance of $3,000,000 per occurrence and $5,000,000 aggregate and ensure all State Data remains in the continental United States.