UI Modernization System

The Commonwealth of Kentucky, Department of Education and Workforce Development, Office of Unemployment Insurance, issued RFP 758 2000000335 on March 6, 2020, to procure a comprehensive UI Modernization System solution that will replace legacy Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Voice Response Unit (VRU), Siebel, and mainframe systems that are over 40 years old. The procurement seeks vendors to design, develop, and implement a complete Information Technology solution encompassing unemployment insurance benefits processing, employer contributions and tax administration, adjudication case management, appeals management, and state and federal reporting capabilities. Deliverables include 16 major project phases covering planning, requirements management, system design, infrastructure recommendations for on-premises or cloud hosting (with preference for AWS or Azure government platforms), development and testing for tax, benefits, appeals, and voice response systems, data migration, interface implementation, reporting functionality, organizational change management, automated testing, security assessments, training and knowledge transfer, phased implementation across multiple deployment phases, and post-implementation support. Vendors must demonstrate a minimum of five years in business and five years of experience with comparable projects, including at least one successful implementation of a similar UI solution in the United States, and must comply with mandatory requirements including Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) standards, NIST SP 800-53 security controls at moderate level, Section 508 accessibility compliance, and Commonwealth Information Technology Standards (KITS). The evaluation criteria allocate 10,000 points for cost proposals (approximately 37 percent of total evaluation), 12,200 points for technical proposals, and up to 5,000 points for oral demonstrations, out of a total possible 27,200 points. The RFP initially required proposal submission by May 13, 2020, at 3:30 PM EST, with vendors' conference and written question submission deadlines occurring in March and April 2020; Addendum 1 subsequently extended the closing date to May 20, 2020.

The solicitation does not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation by organization type, disadvantaged enterprises, or other classes of vendors; however, all bidders must comply with Kentucky campaign finance laws, demonstrate proper registration with the Kentucky Department of Revenue for sales and use tax collection, and certify non-delinquency on state taxes and fees as required by the Annual Affidavit for Bidders, Offerors and Contractors. The RFP does not identify any incumbent vendors or current contractors responsible for operating the legacy systems being replaced. The existing infrastructure encompasses multiple legacy systems including the KEWES (Kentucky Employment and Wage Entry System) mainframe, K-Net, KAMES data systems, Filenet imaging for document management, BARTS for recovery operations, and various reporting modules; the proposed solution must interface with 130+ internal and external partner agencies including the Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and multiple state agencies, with data exchange requirements specified through XML-based standards for real-time interactions on ICON and SIDES federal systems. The initial contract term is five years from the effective date of award, with five optional one-year renewal periods, and pricing shall be firm fixed unit price with no increases permitted during the first twelve months; the Commonwealth applies a 10 percent retainage on all invoices with final payment upon completion of turnover activities, and performance-based penalties ranging from $1,000 to $30,000 per calendar day apply for missed milestones, delayed deliverables, and security requirement failures. No specific budget value or award amount is disclosed in the RFP documentation.