October 14, RFP Questions from Access Sciences

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Claribel Watts
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1 October 14, 2015 State of Louisiana Board of Commissioners Port of New Orleans Request for Proposals for RFP Solicitation RIM Program Assessment and Implementation Strategy RFP 1. If the Board is required to submit a revised Records Retention Schedule (RRS) to the Louisiana Secretary of State s office in 2015 and the date in the RFP for Contract execution and commencement is No later than February 1, 2016, will the Port of New Orleans obtain an extension from the Secretary of State s office to deliver a revised RRS in 2016?, the Board s records manager has been in contact with the Secretary of State s Office. 2. Attachment IV: Price Proposal, Task b on page 34, references a Previous Consultant s Findings. What is the scope and nature of these findings? In 2013, the Board hired, Info-Tech Consulting Services, prior to purchasing a new Electronic Content management System (ECM). Info-Tech submitted a report to document, Compliance Considerations, Industry Standards, and Best Practices for the Electronic Content Management Project and a Process and Technology Gap Analysis for the Electronic Content Management Project. 3. Under 1.4 Performance Goals and Measures, B. Objectives, the fifth bullet reads Perform a records inventory and provide recommendations for cleanup and/or organize physical files in the Board Administration Building and Harbor Police Building. However, there is no mention of a physical records inventory and cleanup/reorganization in Attachment 1: Scope of Services, 2. Scope of Work and Deliverables. Does the Board wish to include a records inventory in the scope of work? In order to update the Board s records retention schedule, an inventory of all Board records, must be performed, to identify, classify, and document the location of all Board records. If so, a. What is the scope of the inventory, e.g., Is the inventory only for physical files in the two referenced buildings? A records inventory is needed for both, electronic records and physical records, and will include all Board personnel that maintain records, in the Administration Building, Harbor Police Bldg., Facility Services, Cruise terminal, Cranes, Dredge, General Kelley, et al. b. What is the purpose of the inventory? The purpose of the inventory is to update the Board s retention schedule accordingly, identify redundancy, eliminate duplication of records, and streamline processes. c. Will it include both physical as well as electronic records? RFP RIM Program Assessment and Implementation Strategy Page 1

2 d. Should this be added as a separate Task on Attachment IV: Price Proposal? The records inventory, and the revision of the Board s records retention schedule, scope of work and cost, should be included in your submittal for Attachment IV, a. Project Management and Administration. 4. In Attachment 1: Scope of Services, 2. Scope of Work and Deliverables, Item 5, references using taxonomy terms to determine retention periods for new records series. Can you please explain the deliverable(s) of this task? For example, is it figuring out an approach to use the terms of existing taxonomies to identify how they can be used to automatically assign the appropriate record series to a document when classifying it with those terms in an electronic repository? The Board s retention schedule will identify the appropriate record series (taxonomies)., an approach is needed to assign the correct record series (taxonomies) to records that are stored in an electronic repository. Board employee will be able to better manage records within the guidelines set forth in policy and procedure, to ensure compliance. 5. Is it possible to get an organization chart for the Port of New Orleans down to the level of teams? If not, how many functional areas are in the Port of New Orleans. And, for each of these functional areas, how many workgroups or teams do they have? Organizational Charts will be posted to the PONO website. 6. Attachment IV: Price Proposal, Schedule of Prices 1, breaks out the work to be performed differently than Attachment 1: Scope of Services, 2. Scope of Work and Deliverables. Therefore, can the Board please provide a description of the expected deliverables for each of the Tasks (Pay Item Description a. to h.) listed on the Price Proposal? Use the Price Proposal, Schedule of Prices as a guide, for your submittal. You can change the line items to reflect the scope of work in your proposal. The deliverable is a RIM Program that will bring the Board in compliance with applicable law and statues, and Records and Information Management Compliance. Specifically, a. Task b, Review Previous Consultant s Findings and Perform Additional Research: Does this refer to the work required to review the Records Retention Schedule (RRS), perform additional legal recordkeeping research, as needed, recommend changes to the RRS to remain compliant with Federal and LA laws and regulations as well as facilitate application of the recordkeeping requirements against electronic records repositories, and develop a crosswalk mapping from old to new schedules? Refer to question #2. The 2 reports submitted by Info-Tech, will give the consultant the Board hires for this process, an insight on the current situation. Additional research may be required, to ensure the Board s records are in compliance with State and Federal Law and regulations. In addition, Records and Information Best Practices and Procedures, will need to be applied to the Board s electronic records systems, as well as physical files. RFP RIM Program Assessment and Implementation Strategy Page 2

3 b. Task f, Prepare the Organization: Does this task encompass the work required to onboard and train the formal RIM Network referenced in Task d? If not, what is meant by Organization? Prepare the Organization is meant to give management, an overview as to the processes that will take place, in order to achieve compliance. Training will be given to all Board employees, with written policies and procedures, to ensure the RIM program is adhered to and is successful. c. Task g, Provide review and recommendations on the improvements needed to an existing Board Inventory Tracking System for shelf storage of physical records: Is this system the Advantage application listed on page 4 of the RFP as one of the 8 electronic systems used to manage records? Advantage is the Board s Inventory Tracking System. The consultant is to take a look at this system and make recommendations for enhancements, and/or additional staff needed to achieve optimum results. d. Task h, Review and make recommendations to improve the existing Board Technical Architecture for the Records Information Management program: Does this task encompass the taxonomy development for the Laserfiche records management system referenced in Attachment 1: Scope of Services, 2. Scope of Work and Deliverables, Item 3 as well as developing a plan to apply retention rules to documents in electronic repositories (Item 7)? 7. Attachment IV: Price Proposal, Schedule of Prices 1, Training: a. Please provide total number of port staff to be trained on new RIM program policy and processes and the preferred method of delivery, e.g., face to face or CBT The Board has 281 employees. Training should be face to face in a class setting. It will be mandatory for all Board employees to attend. It is recommended that training be held, for employees within their Division/Department, so that their specific are addressed. Record Management Policies and Procedure manuals will be distributed to Board employees, at the training session. b. Are there any time constraints on training delivery? Training should take place after the retention schedule has been approved and policies and procedures are written and approved. This process should be completed within one year of awarding the contract. c. When does the training need to be completed? RIM training should take place, within one year of the start date of the contract. d. Since the proposal includes an assessment and recommendations for improvements to the technical architecture, what new architecture is to be covered in the training? Additional training may be necessary, as changes to ECM systems are developed and implemented. 8. Attachment IV: Price Proposal, Schedule of Prices 1, refers to 9 tasks for the total column. Should this be for 8 tasks only? If not, what is the missing task? Use Attachment IV as a guide to submit your proposal. The line items may change with your recommendation/approach to achieve RIM compliance. Please note, there are only 8 tasks listed. RFP RIM Program Assessment and Implementation Strategy Page 3

4 9. Should the Proposed Project Work Plan be based on the "Pay item Description" column in the Attachment IV: Price Proposal?, but these line items will change based on your proposal. See answer to # Which Task in Attachment IV: Price Proposal, Schedule of Prices 1 covers development of a gap analysis report? b. Review Previous Consultant s Findings and Perform Additional Research A gap analysis was performed in 2013, by Info-Tech Consulting. Laserfiche has been installed and some departments are using this application. A new gap analysis is required, to report findings of consultant, a.) to ensure compliance b.) achieve maximum potential of ECM technology 11. On page 21, under Attachment 1: Scope of Services, 2. Scope of Work and Deliverables, the document describes a deliverable in item 7 as Create a taxonomy structure for automated records and a retention system. Is the taxonomy structure referenced the function record series hierarchy in the RRS? If not, can you please provide more detail as to what the Board would like to receive as a taxonomy structure and its purpose or what is meant by the phrase automated records and a retention system?, the taxonomy structure is the records series on the Board s retention schedule. Board employees will need a more defined structure in which to use/save/store records that are in electronic repositories. is a major problem. Board records are now being stored in the system. 12. Section 4.1 Proposal Submission on page 12 indicates we must submit an original proposal and 5 copies. Does the term proposal as used here include both the Technical Proposal and the Cost Proposal? The proposal should include the scope of work and the cost. If your approach, to achieve compliance, is different than specifically detailed in this RFP, then the proposal should reflect that. 13. Should we submit a version of the proposal with confidential items redacted? The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans is a political subdivision of the State of Louisiana, and as such subject to the requirements of the Public Records Law, L.S.A., R.S et seq. Most documents it possesses/retains are considered a public record. However, there are exceptions within the Public records law that would exempt certain types of documents the Board possesses. Having said this, we are unaware of any information which proposer may have to submit in response to the RFP that may be exempt from the Public Records Law. If you would like further clarification, please send us a follow-up question with more detail. However, please be advised that we cannot give you legal advice and you may want to consult your own counsel. 14. Section 5.3 Proposed Project Staff, paragraph 3, states "Education and experience requirements should include, but are not limited to descriptions listed in Attachment I, Statement of Work, Section 6." Should this read Attachment I: Scope of Services, Section 3 as there is no Section 6? RFP RIM Program Assessment and Implementation Strategy Page 4

5 15. Does the Board have a particular format in which they would like to see the resumes? In Section 5.3, paragraph 4, the RFP asks for resumes that show each assigned individual s education, registrations, accomplishments, and experience", and in the following paragraph it states the resume should include education, training, technical experience, functional experience, specific dates and names of employers, relevant and related experience as well as past and present projects with dates and responsibilities and any applicable certifications and customer references for cited projects. No particular format. 16. Section 5.3 Proposed Project Staff, paragraph 4, requires the "Proposer shall identify the percentage of work and which work key personnel will do and may not replace any of its key personnel or reduce their percentage of work without the express prior written agreement of the Board." In addition, Section 3.2 Determination of Responsibility, bullet 7 states Identification of Proposer s team with their credentials. Note there will be no substitutions without prior written Board approval. Is it sufficient to provide sample resumes of the level of resources we would assign to this type of project instead of providing named individuals? As a consulting firm, it is difficult for us to reserve any resources without a firm contractual commitment. We would risk the loss of two months of revenue on each resource between the time RFP responses are due and the work is anticipated to commence. And this risk would need to be assumed without assurance of being awarded the work. The Board requires the consultant to provide a level of expertise, to ensure compliance. A sample resume will be accepted at the time of the proposal. However, the Board will require the names of the personnel assigned to the project, prior to signing the contract. 17. The title of the RFP indicates the Board desires to receive an Implementation Strategy in addition to a RIM Program Assessment. While Attachment 1: Scope of Services is in alignment with this objective, the Tasks listed on Attachment IV: Price Proposal, Schedule of Prices 1, indicate there is an expectation that policies and processes are to be developed and implemented. Section 1.4 Performance Goals and Measures, B. Objectives, also states the Proposer will assess and implement improvements to current RIM Policy and practices. Does the Board intend for this RFP to cover policy and process implementation activities? The Board desires a Records and Information Management Program, compliant with State and Federal Law and Regulations, and is in alignment with Records Management Best Practices and Procedures. This will include a RIM Program Assessment, the development of Policies and Procedures, Revised Retention Schedule, Employee Training, and implementation of approved changes to current technology and/or new technology to enhance our RIM Program. RFP RIM Program Assessment and Implementation Strategy Page 5

RFP 3512R09 Strategic Consultant Services for the Office of Policy and Public Private Partnerships Addendum 3 Appendix H Questions & Answers

RFP 3512R09 Strategic Consultant Services for the Office of Policy and Public Private Partnerships Addendum 3 Appendix H Questions & Answers 1. Question Is pre-registration required for the pre-proposal conference on May 3? Answer Pre-registration is not required. Please refer to Section I-8 of the RFP for further information. 2. Question Please