ANR FWD Point of Sale Solution

State of Vermont Bidder Response Form

Request for Proposal Name: ANR FWD Point of Sale Solution

Vendor Instructions:

Provide the information requested in this form and submit it to the State of Vermont as part of your Request for Proposal (RFP) response. All answers must be provided within the form unless otherwise specified.

Important: This form must be completed and submitted in response to this RFP for your proposal to be considered valid. The submission must also include the eight (8) additional artifacts requested within this form (denoted by underlined green font).

See the RFP for full instructions for submitting a bid. Bids must be received by the due date and at the location specified on the cover page of the RFP.

Direct any questions you have concerning this form or the RFP to:

Kyle Emerson, State Purchasing Agent

State of Vermont

Office of Purchasing & Contracting

E-mail Address:

Part 1: Vendor Profile

Complete the table below.

Provide a brief overview of your company including number of years in business, number of employees, nature of business, and description of clients. Identify any parent corporation and/or subsidiaries.

Is your organization currently or has it previously provided solutions and/or services to any agency or entity of the Vermont State government within the past five years? If so, include a complete list of the State entities, the solutions and/or services provided, and the dates your organization provided the State with these services in the last five years.

Provide a Financial Statement* for your company and label it Attachment #1. This requirement can be filled by:

A current Dun and Bradstreet Report that includes a financial analysis of the firm;

An Annual Report if it contains (at a minimum) a Compiled Income Statement and Balance Sheet verified by a Certified Public Accounting firm; or

Tax returns and financial statements including income statements and balance sheets for the most recent 3 years, and any available credit reports.

A confidentiality statement may be included if this financial information is considered non-public information

*Some types of procurements may require bidders to provide additional or specific financial information. Any such additional requirements will be clearly identified and explained within the RFP and may include supplemental forms in addition to this Bidder Response Form.

Disclose any judgments, pending or expected litigation, or other real potential financial reversals, which might materially affect the viability or stability of your company or indicate below that no such condition is known to exist. A confidentiality statement may be included if this information is considered non-public information

Provide a list of three references similar in size and industry (preferably another governmental entity). References shall be clients, other than the State of Vermont, who have implemented your Solution within the past 48 months.

Part 2: Vendor Proposal/Solution

Provide a description of the technology solution you are proposing.

Provide a description of the capabilities of the technology solution you are proposing.

If specific software is being proposed, provide a description of the:

Standard features and functions of the software:

The software licensing requirements for the solution:

Maximum number of concurrent users:

Give a brief description of the evolution of the system/software solution you are proposing. Include the date of the first installed site and major developments which have occurred (e.g. new versions, new modules, specific features).

List the total number of installations in the last 3 years by the year of installation.

Provide the total number of current users for the proposed system and indicate what version they are using.

Have you implemented the proposed solution for other government entities? If so, tell us who, when, and how that implementation went?

Provide a Road Map that outlines the company's short term and long-term goals for the proposed solution/software and label it Attachment #2. (A confidentiality statement may be included if this information is considered non-public information)

Provide a PowerPoint (minimum of 1 slide and maximum of 10 slides) that provides an Executive level summary of your proposal to the State. Label it Attachment #3.

Describe any infrastructure, equipment, network or hardware required to implement and/or run the solution.

What is your recommended way to host this solution?

Describe how your solution can be integrated to other applications and if you offer a standard-based interface to enable integrations.

Respond to the following questions about the solution being proposed:

Part 3: Functional Requirements

The table below lists the State's Functional Requirements. Indicate the "Availability" for each requirement for your proposed solution. Use the "Vendor Comments" column to provide any additional information or explanations.

A - Feature is available in the core ("out-of-the-box") solution.

D - Feature is currently under development (indicate anticipated date of availability in the Vendor comments column).

C - Feature is not available in the core solution, but can provided with customization.

N - Feature is not available.

Part 4: Non- Functional Requirements

The tables below list the State's Non-Functional Requirements. Indicate if your proposed solution complies in the "Comply" column.

Yes = the solution complies with the stated requirement.

No = the solution does not comply with the stated requirement.

N/A = Not applicable to this offering.

Describe how the requirement is met in the "Vendor Description of Compliance" column.

4.1 Transferability

4.2 Reliability

4.3 Maintainability

4.4 Usability

4.5 Agility

4.6 Performance Efficiency

4.7 Compatibility

Security

4.9 Data Compliance

Vendors and their solutions must adhere to applicable State and Federal standards, policies, and laws based on the type of data that will be stored, accessed, transmitted and/or controlled by the solution. If the "Type of Data" column is checked below, respond "Yes" or "No" in the "Comply" column and provide an explanation on how you comply in the "Vendor's Description of Compliance" column.

4.10 State of Vermont Cybersecurity Standard Update

Bidder shall certify by checking the box below the Solution shall not include, incorporate, rely on, utilize or be supported by any products or services subject to the limitations provided under State of Vermont Cybersecurity Standard Update, which Bidder acknowledges has been provided to it, and is available on-line at the following URL:

Bidder hereby certifies that in connection with the Request for Proposal, none of the applicable products or services will be included in or used to support State systems in a manner prohibited under the Standard.

Part 5: General Administrative Requirements

5.01 Project Management & Planning

PROJ-FEA-GF01

As a State project manager, I want the Contractor to plan, manage, and report project activities using State-approved tools and plans So that the project is executed consistently, collaboratively, and in alignment with State governance standards.

5.02 Human Resources & Staffing Management

PROJ-FEA-GF02

As a State contract manager

I want visibility and oversight of Contractor staffing and personnel

So that the project maintains qualified, available, and accountable resources.

5.03 Contract & Financial Management

PROJ-FEA-GF03

As a State financial administrator

I want Contractor invoicing, subcontractor oversight, and legal responses managed consistently

So that financial compliance, accountability, and transparency are maintained.

5.04 Communications & Documentation Management

PROJ-FEA-GF04

As a State project manager

I want project documentation and communications managed using State standards

So that information is accurate, compliant, and accessible.

5.05 Technical Design & Implementation

PROJ-FEA-GF05

As a State enterprise architect

I want system, interface, and data design documentation maintained and approved

So that technical components are traceable, consistent, and support integrated operations.

5.06 Infrastructure & Hosting Management

PROJ-FEA-GF-06

As a State technical operations lead

I want the Contractor to manage hosting, environments, and infrastructure performance

So that systems operate reliably and meet service level agreements.

5.07 Security & Compliance Management

PROJ-FEA-GF07

As a State security and privacy lead

I want compliant security controls, assessments, and protected environments

So that systems meet Federal and State privacy, audit, and cybersecurity standards.

5.08 Testing & Quality Management

PROJ-FEA-GF08

As a State quality lead

I want quality and testing activities managed under approved standards and plans

So that the system meets performance, compliance, and operational expectations.

5.09 Training & User Support Management

PROJ-FEA-GF09

As a State user support administrator

I want training, user guides, and help desk services delivered using State standards

So that users are supported and enabled throughout system adoption.

5.10 Operations & Maintenance Management

PROJ-FEA-GF10

As a State operations manager

I want maintenance, defect management, release control, and performance monitoring

So that system stability and operational continuity are sustained.

5.11 Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery

PROJ-FEA-GF11

As a State continuity and risk program owner

I want reliable BC/DR/CIR planning, exercises, and recovery capabilities

So that critical operations can resume during incidents or outages.

Part 6: Implementation/Project Management Approach

Describe the approach you would recommend for project managing this engagement.

Provide a list of the standard project management deliverables that you would normally produce for this type of engagement.

Provide a proposed list of project phases, major milestones, and an implementation time-line. Label this Attachment #4.

What types of difficulties have other clients experienced with implementation of the proposed solution?

Describe the experience and qualifications of the Project Manager you would offer as the resource for this engagement. Provide a copy of their resume and label it Attachment #5.

Part 7: Technical Services

Describe the technical services included in your proposal (e.g., business analysis, configuration, testing, implementation, etc.).

Provide a list of the standard deliverables for the technical services described above.

Describe your business analysis approach for the implementation of the Fish and Wildlife Point of Sale solution. Describe your requirements elicitation and documentation processes and deliverables.

How do you manage the process of gathering our business and technical requirements?

What methodology (e.g., workshops, interviews, document analysis) do you use to map our requirements to the COTS product's standard features?

How do you handle requirements that fall outside the COTS application's standard capabilities? What is the formal process for identifying a gap?

What is your standard deliverable/artifact that formally documents the agreed-upon scope (e.g., Requirements Traceability Matrix, Statement of Work)?

What is your formal Gap Analysis process? Who from your team is responsible for leading this activity?

For each identified gap, what is the decision framework used to determine whether it will be solved by:

Configuration (using built-in flexibility)?

Customization (developing new code)?

A process change on the State's end?

What is your policy and process for customizations? Are there limitations (e.g., only via APIs, no changes to core code)? How are these customizations supported and maintained during future product upgrades?

How is the impact of a customization on the overall system performance and stability measured and documented?

Describe how you document and manage other requirements related artifacts like acceptance criteria and business rules.

How do you ensure that the system, as implemented, meets the agreed-upon requirements? How do you associate or link business rules and acceptance criteria to requirements?

What is your approach to User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in relation to the requirements? Do you provide pre-built test cases linked to the requirements?

How do you demonstrate that a custom development or configuration has not negatively impacted other core system functions (regression testing)?

Provide a description of the roles/services/tasks the State will be expected to cover as part of this engagement. Describe any additional roles/services/tasks that are optional, but would be beneficial for the State to provide.

Describe your typical conversion plan to convert data from existing systems to your proposed solution (if applicable).

Describe and attach your typical Implementation Plan (label it Attachment #6), which shall include planning for the transition to maintenance and operations.

Describe the experience and qualifications of the technical resources proposed for this engagement. Provide their resume(s) and label them Attachment #7.

Describe the training that is included in your proposal.

Describe the system, administrator, and/or user documentation that is included in your proposal.

Part 8: Oral Demonstrations, Interviews and Trial Evaluation Period: The State reserves the right to,

Require a Vendor to present an Oral Demonstration of their proposed solution, preferably by the Vendor's Solution Experts and Information Technology staff that will be implementing the solution and respond to interview questions during the demonstration. The demonstration will be stand alone and should include a high-level overview of how the proposed solution meets the State's needs and will be limited to 90 minutes, then 30 minutes available for the State to ask questions about the proposed solution.

Request and be provided a Trial Evaluation (Hands-On Evaluation) Period of the proposed solution by State Evaluators. State Evaluators will have access to Vendor's Sandbox version of the proposed solution for Hands-On Evaluation which will include:

Hands-On Evaluation Setup Meeting prior to beginning of the Evaluation period with Vendor Representative, and State Representatives to review such items as

Account setup and types of roles.

Confirmation of Hands-On Evaluation duration dates.

Vendor Support contact during Hands-On Evaluation.

Setup of Kick-Off meeting with Vendor Representatives and State Evaluators.

Check-In meetings; setup of a minimum of two (2) meetings during Evaluation period.

How Vendor will respond to State questions and evaluation scripts findings (issues).

Pre-Hands-On Evaluation Support to ensure that all Evaluators have successfully logged into the Vendor's Sandbox.

Hands-On Evaluation Duration of Fifteen 15 Business Days.

First day of the Evaluation period, or prior to, a Kick-Off Meeting with Vendor Representatives, and State Evaluators for orientation of Vendor's Sandbox version of the solution.

Minimum of fourteen (14) business days of Hands-On Evaluation of Vendors proposed solution in Vendor's Sandbox.

Minimum of two (2) Check-In Meetings during Evaluation period with State Evaluators and Vendor Representatives to review any issues, blocks, features, and functionality discovered. It is preferred by the State that the first Check-In Meeting be in the first week of the Evaluation period.

All costs associated with oral demonstration, interviews, and Sandbox setup and usage for Hands-On Evaluation will be borne entirely by the Vendor.

Describe how you will make these items possible and what Vendor support will be provided during Hands-On Evaluation period.

Part 9: Maintenance and Support Services

Provide answers to the questions below regarding your company's Maintenance and Support Services:

Describe how adherence to your service levels is measured and what remedies you would provide the State when performance doesn't meet the standard?

Part 10: Pricing

Submit pricing for your proposed solution in the table below. Fill in only the lines that are applicable to your proposal. Insert lines for additional costs, but do not delete or rename any lines in the Table. Total each column and provide a total of all columns in the "Total Implementation, plus 5 Year Costs" box on the next page.

Describe any assumptions you have made in relation to the above cost and pricing information.

Provide pricing information for any volume discounts that are available based on the number of software licenses purchased or support years purchased.

Provide pricing for any Functional Requirements marked as "C" (feature is not available in the core solution, but can be provided with customization).

Part 11: Terms and Conditions

Exceptions to the States standard terms, conditions, and templates is strongly discouraged. Accordingly, exceptions may result in a determination that a bidder's proposal is not in the best interest of the State. However, if a bidder does wish to take exception to the State's terms, conditions, or templates they must indicate those objections in the table below. Add lines to the table below as needed. The State considers contractor documents the bidder wishes to append to the contract as exceptions.

Part 12: Certificate of Compliance/Authorized Company Signature

NON COLLUSION: Bidder hereby certifies that the prices quoted have been arrived at without collusion and that no prior information concerning these prices has been received from or given to a competitive company. If there is sufficient evidence to warrant investigation of the bid/contract process by the Office of the Attorney General, bidder understands that this paragraph might be used as a basis for litigation.

CONTRACT TERMS: Bidder hereby acknowledges that is has read, understands and agrees to the terms of this RFP, including Attachment C: Standard State Contract Provisions, and any other contract attachments included with this RFP.

Worker Classification Compliance Requirement: In accordance with Section 32 of The Vermont Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Act No. 54), the following provisions and requirements apply to Bidder when the amount of its bid exceeds $250,000.00.

Self-Reporting. Bidder hereby self-reports the following information relating to past violations, convictions, suspensions, and any other information related to past performance relative to coding and classification of workers, that occurred in the previous 12 months.

Subcontractor Reporting. Bidder hereby acknowledges and agrees that if it is a successful bidder, prior to execution of any contract resulting from this RFP, Bidder will provide to the State a list of all proposed subcontractors and subcontractors' subcontractors, together with the identity of those subcontractors' workers compensation insurance providers, and additional required or requested information, as applicable, in accordance with Section 32 of The Vermont Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Act No. 54), and Bidder will provide any update of such list to the State as additional subcontractors are hired. Bidder further acknowledges and agrees that the failure to submit subcontractor reporting in accordance with Section 32 of The Vermont Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Act No. 54) will constitute non-compliance and may result in cancellation of contract and/or restriction from bidding on future state contracts.

Executive Order 05 - 16: Climate Change Considerations in State Procurements Certification

Bidder certifies to the following (Bidder may attach any desired explanation or substantiation. Please also note that Bidder may be asked to provide documentation for any applicable claims):

Bidder owns, leases or utilizes, for business purposes, space that has received:

Energy Star(R) Certification

LEED(R), Green Globes(R), or Living Buildings ChallengeSM Certification

Other internationally recognized building certification:

____________________________________________________________________________

2. Bidder has received incentives or rebates from an Energy Efficiency Utility or Energy Efficiency Program in the last five years for energy efficient improvements made at bidder's place of business. Please explain:

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Please Check all that apply:

Bidder can claim on-site renewable power or anaerobic-digester power ("cow-power"). Or bidder consumes renewable electricity through voluntary purchase or offset, provided no such claimed power can be double-claimed by another party.

Bidder uses renewable biomass or bio-fuel for the purposes of thermal (heat) energy at its place of business.

Bidder's heating system has modern, high-efficiency units (boilers, furnaces, stoves, etc.), having reduced emissions of particulate matter and other air pollutants.

Bidder tracks its energy consumption and harmful greenhouse gas emissions. What tool is used to do this? _____________________

Bidder promotes the use of plug-in electric vehicles by providing electric vehicle charging, electric fleet vehicles, preferred parking, designated parking, purchase or lease incentives, etc..

Bidder offers employees an option for a fossil fuel divestment retirement account.

Bidder offers products or services that reduce waste, conserve water, or promote energy efficiency and conservation. Please explain:

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Please list any additional practices that promote clean energy and take action to address climate change:

_____________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________ _

_____________________________________________________________________________

Executive Order 02 - 22: Solidarity with the Ukrainian People

By checking this box, Bidder certifies that none of the goods, products, or materials offered in response to this solicitation are Russian-sourced goods or produced by Russian entities. If Bidder is unable to check the box, it shall indicate in the table below which of the applicable offerings are Russian-sourced goods and/or which are produced by Russian entities. An additional column is provided for any note or comment that you may have.

Certification Regarding Use of Contract Funds for Lobbying. The following provision is applicable to the Contractor for contracts over $100,000.00, and Contractor shall include this clause in all its subcontracts over $100,000.00.

1. The prospective contractor certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, under the penalties of perjury under the laws of the State of Vermont and the United States that on behalf of the person, firm, association, or corporation he or she represents, that:

a. No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any Federal agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.

b. If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any Federal agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying," in accordance with its instructions.

2. This certification is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for making or entering into this transaction imposed by 31 U.S.C. 1352. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure.

3. The prospective contractor also agrees that they shall require that the language of this certification be included in all lower tier subcontracts, which exceed $100,000 and that all such recipients shall certify and disclose accordingly.

For your bid to be considered valid, this Bidder Response Form must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the bidder, and submitted as part of the response to the proposal.

I am authorized to submit a proposal to the State of Vermont in response to this RFP on behalf of my organization. The information provided as part of my organization's response is a true and accurate representation of my organization's ability to meet the State of Vermont's business needs as expressed in this RFP.