MRA Core Facility Management Software.

Location:	Mississippi
Posted:	Dec 1, 2025
Due:	Dec 11, 2025
Agency:	Mississippi State University
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	70 - General Purpose Information Technology Equipment (including software). D - Automatic Data Processing and Telecommunication Services
Solicitation No:	RFP 26-18 RFP 26-18Q&A
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Mississippi State University

Request for Proposals (RFP) 26-18

MRA Core Facility Management Software

ISSUE DATE: November 14, 2025

ISSUING AGENCY: Office of Procurement and Contracts

Mississippi State University

610 McArthur Hall

245 Barr Avenue

Mississippi State, MS 39762

Sealed Proposals, subject to the conditions made a part hereof, will be received December 11,

2025 at 2:00 PM in the MSU Office of Procurement and Contracts, same address above,

for furnishing services and potentially, optional services as described herein.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Indicate firm name, and RFP number on the front of each sealed

proposal envelope or package.

All inquiries concerning this RFP should be directed to:

Jennifer Mayfield

Office of Procurement and Contracts, (Same address above)

jmayfield@procurement.msstate.edu

662-325-2550

Any addendum associated with this RFP will be posted at

http://www.procurement.msstate.edu/procurement/bids/index.php located under RFP 26-18. It

is the respondent’s responsibility to assure that all addenda have been reviewed and if

applicable, signed and returned.

1. UNIVERSITY OVERVIEW

Mississippi State University (MSU) is a comprehensive land grant university of 21,500+

students and approximately 5,000 faculty and staff. The main campus is located adjacent to the

community of Starkville in northeast Mississippi, with a remote campus located in Meridian

with an enrollment of around 700 students. Additionally, the university operates several remote

agricultural experiment stations and has an Extension office located in each of the eighty-two

Mississippi counties.

Additional information about MSU can be found at our website www.msstate.edu.

2. INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSAL ON RFP

Mississippi State University is seeking a web-based Core Facility Management Software

application system that will support a multi-institutional shared resource exchange portal. This

search portal will enhance research collaboration across Mississippi by providing a centralized,

searchable database of research equipment and services available through the state’s institutions

of higher learning. The portal will have:

• A homepage introducing the Mississippi Research Alliance (MRA) and its member

institutions

• A page listing all participating member institutions and their associated core facilities

• Core landing pages for each participating facility. Two types of core landing pages

must be supported:

o Core landing pages (Qty 30-45) that provide visibility only. These pages will

display a facility description, contact information, and available resources.

o Core landing pages (Qty 10) that provide visibility and include all features of

the software’s functionality—such as scheduling, service requests, pricing,

billing/invoicing, and reporting.

• A search page where equipment and services from all cores can be searched using a list

of preset search terms. Results should display matching equipment/services and the

affiliated core landing pages.

The system should be flexible, customizable, and expandable, allowing employees and

customers to change options and settings as permitted without IT/vendor assistance.

Product pricing must include tiered management levels and an unlimited number of users for

each institution. Core pricing must include unlimited calendars and services.

Implementation must include a full suite of services including integration design. A dedicated

project manager, implementation staff, technical integration manager, and software engineer

should be assigned to each of three (3) institutions. Service provider will begin implementation

according to the project plan within four (4) months of receipt of a purchase order and must

deliver a fully functional and stable system for each Service Center Group using the system

within three (3) months implementation start. Service Provider must also provide extensive

training on use and management of the system to all levels of managers in the system.

3. SCOPE OF SERVICES REQUIRED

a) Technical Requirements

Platform/System – should support:

• End User application capability to be installed and operated on mobile, PC, and Mac

devices.

• SAML integration for Single Sign On (SSO)

• Optional API connector for connection with Laboratory Information Management

System (LIMS) or other comprehensive data management system.

b) Users

There should be no restrictions on the number of users.

User permissions and access to various system functions should be role based with users

allowed in multiple roles. Role-based permissions govern each user’s rights to add, edit, and

view information within the system. There should be capability to accommodate tiered

access based on roles. Institution-level managers must have access to all institution-level

settings, all lab/user/account lists, and all reporting data. Core-level managers must be able

to easily communicate with users in sortable groupings, configure all core-level settings,

and perform all core invoicing, billing and reporting. Financial managers must be able to

access billing, invoicing, and reporting features. Employees and customers must be able to

track their reservations and service requests across all cores using a single project number.

Group leaders must be able to control their own lab membership, membership levels,

membership duration, fund assignments, and spending limits per group member. Group

leaders should be able to assign permissions to designated group managers to have access to

the same features as they do.

c) Reporting/Forms, Custom Fields, Files

• The system should have the ability to create custom reports by select users and system

administrators.

• Reports should include scheduled items, services, charges, requests, projects

completed, custom forms, cost, time, events, users, cores, labs, and maintenance.

• Users should be able to develop configurable report templates and save for future

use.

• System should be able to display, email, export, print, share, and save reports and raw

data in PDF, CSV, and XLS formats.

• The service provider should explain in detail the reporting function of the system.

d) Functions

Resource scheduling calendars:

• Core-created calendars configurable for time in the future for instruments to be

searched/reserved per setting

• Specific prices per instrument for a defined date/quantity/group of users

• Generate multiple instances of a schedule for duplicate identical resources.

• Calendars can display instrument category, description, and an image.

• Internal/external visibility control of calendars

• Service Center managers can reserve time on behalf of a user.

• Add service charges and custom forms to reservations.

• Link schedules and reserve time on multiple resources in one step.

• Set cancellation fees, discount pricing, usage restrictions, multiple permission levels,

and permissions to create recurring reservations.

• Require reservation approval, option to link to permission and time of day.

• System sends email notifications, calendar invites, and reminders to users and

responsible staff for reservations per settings.

• Manage training/maintenance events and retain records for each schedule.

• Create instant instrument usage entries via a Start/Stop time tracking feature.

• Allow hardware access control linked to user permission.

Service Project Request:

• Specific prices per service, by a defined date/quantity/grouping of users

• Create project templates including milestones, custom forms, and add-ons.

• Internal/external visibility control of offered services

• Service Center managers can create service requests on behalf of a user.

• Project logbook, complete record of all communications, actions/approvals including

user, date and time

• Project approval workflow for quotes and quote generation to PDF

• Generate automated emails upon the change in status of a project.

• Assign Service Center staff to overall project or milestone.

• Categories for project and services templates for searching and filtering

• Create schedule reservation from a project, upload documents (e.g., report files) to

projects, and/or link to external file folder for data and reports.

• Multiple Service Centers/Cores can access the same project.

• Employee Project Time Entry

o Matrix grid for time entry

o Time entry against assigned services

o Figures from time entry update on projects

Billing management:

• Confirmation of usage and validity check of funds upon finalizing project

• PI invoice approval

• Manager can initiate billing cycle and classify invoices in varying ways.

• Remove charges or invoices from billing cycle if information is missing.

• Communicate with relevant people related to billing activities.

• Restrict billing process to delegated financial managers.

• Remaining Value Check

• File upload including General Ledger information

• FTP server file transfer

e) System Maintenance and Support

The MRA requests the bidder to provide installation, setup, and configuration training.

The MRA anticipates the initial award will cover a 24-month period. Bidders shall provide

details on licensing requirements and all ongoing expenses for maintenance and support.

After the second year, ongoing annual support or maintenance costs shall become a year-to-

year contractual agreement. This includes product updates and hotfixes.

Institution and Customer Support should include:

• Dedicated product Customer Support Team located in the customer country

• Responsive support team and system monitoring to prevent/correct issues

• Dedicated point-of-contact support manager per institution and network

• Phone, chat, and email support available 12-24 hours/day on business days

• Online FAQ/forums related to product functionality

f) Other Requirements

• Provide a completed Higher Education Cloud Vendor Assessment Tool (HECVAT) (lite

version available at: https://www.ren-isac.net/public-resources/hecvat.html). or provide

applicable certifications such as SOC2 documentation.

• Provide product interfaces that are compliant with WCAG 2.0 AA and provide VPAT if

available.

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

MRA Core Facility Management Software.

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