HCV Data Management Software

"PURCHASING DIVISION\n\nKent Calvin Brinks, Manager\n\nK_lCounty saaTm\nu\n\nSee ee purchasing@kentcountymi.gov\n\nSOLICITATION\nSolicitation Type Request for Information (RFI)\nSolicitation Number 5505\nDescription HCV Data Management Software\nDate of Issuance 11/27/2023\nInquiries Deadline Date & Time (local) | 12/22/2023, 2 PM\nDue Date & Time (local) 1/4/2024, 2 PM\nPre-Submission Conference Yes: Non-Mandatory Teleconference (attendance\nrecommended & pre-registration required)\nConference Date & Time (local) 12/19/2023, 11 AM\nBuyer Name Pitchellis\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nThe Kent County Purchasing Division is requesting information (\"RFI\") on behalf of the Kent County\nHousing Commission (KCHC) for new data management software for its Housing Choice Voucher\nProgram.\n\nThe RFI seeks input and feedback from industry-qualified experts and will provide guidance for the\nprocurement of the software. The County desires a

turnkey cloud-based solution for a product that is\ncomplete and ready for immediate use. Respondents are encouraged to emphasize their existing\nsoftware functionality and \u201cbest practice\u201d solutions rather than software customization. The projected\ncontract award date is May 1, 2024.\n\nKent County may select RFI finalists to interview in advance of a subsequent Request for Proposal (RFP)\noffer. Kent County does not guarantee the opportunity will be provided for others that fail to respond to\nthe RFI to be included and able to participate in the RFP process. Submitted recommendations shall in\nno way bind Kent County to any purchase for any reason.\nDESIRED FUNCTIONALITY (EXAMPLES)\n\n1. Applicant/Waiting List\n\n2. Participant/tenant\n\n3. Landlord\n\n4. 50058 Rent Calculations\n\nPage 10f5\n" "5. Tenant accounting w/ capability to generate monthly payment list to send to Fiscal Services,\nwhich generates the payments. Do NOT need payment processing.\n\n6. Mobile Inspections\n\n7. Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS)\n\n8. PIC/HIP export and submission\n\n9. Reports (for Board reporting, SEMAP) including custom reports\n\n10. Data analysis tools\n\n11. Letters and Forms\n\n12. Emailing capabilities to applicants, participants, landlords\n\n13. Online portals for Applicants, Participants, and Landlords\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BEST PRACTICE CONSIDERATIONS (EXAMPLES):\n\n1. Acloud-based system is desired.\n\n2. The Respondent should provide a general overview of the company\u2019s philosophy of cloud\ncomputing including security, technology implemented, data storage, logging, monitoring,\nthreat management, vulnerability management, and incident management.\n\n3. The Respondent should provide a general overview of administrative functions including\naccount management, support, help desk and support ticketing processes, availability, and\nresponsiveness.\n\n4. The Respondent should provide a general overview of Service Level Agreement (SLA) and\ncontract performance including, SLA basics, SLA failure process, and contract termination.\n\n5. The Respondent should provide a general overview of data extraction (data portability)\nincluding data formats and extraction methods.\n\n6. The Respondent should provide a general overview of its business continuity and disaster\nrecovery capabilities and processes.\n\n7. The Respondent should provide information on how desired services or overall organization are\nranked by industry research firms such as Gartner and Forrester.\n\nPage 2 0f5\n" "8. The Respondent should provide a general overview of their platform\u2019s integration capabilities\nwith 3\" party or client business systems.\n\n9. The Respondent should describe what experience your organization has in meeting the unique\nrequirements of local government.\n\n10. Information classification capabilities are desired. For example, information can be classified as\nnon-public and/or privileged in some way.\n\n11. The service should have some way of providing multifactor authentication (MFA) or should be\nable to plug into our MFA provider, Okta.\n\n12. Data retention capabilities are desired. Specifically, data retention capabilities of the application\nthat can be configured to match the public records requirements and retention requirements\nset by Corporate Counsel and statute in Michigan.\n\n13. Role-based security for users is desired.\n\n14. Audit trail of actions performed. All actions are logged in an auditable manner, especially\nsignatures, votes, and administrative actions.\n\n15. It is desirable that the cloud service should be FedRamp certified or have pending certification.\n\n16. It is preferred that cloud service are based in US or Canada and are restricted from moving from\nthese geographic areas.\n\n17. Mobile device application/interface is desired.\n\n18. Integration capabilities with Office 365 (cloud) is desired for calendar synching and overall\ncollaboration considerations.\n\n19. It is desirable that the applications meet NIST or ISO standards for data security, including\nencryption of data in transit and at rest.\n\n20. The Respondent should have a duty to disclose material breaches of data, and should also\ndisclose breaches by contractors and suppliers, if those breaches affect the application in\nquestion, or the county\u2019s data in any way.\n\nINQUIRIES\n\nAny and all communication regarding this Solicitation shall be on the Kent County Purchasing Division\nInquiry Blog via the Bid Opportunities page or during pre-proposal meetings. Kent County reserves the\nright to determine the response format or not respond, at its sole discretion.\n\nPage 3 0f5\n" "PRE-SUBMISSION TELECONFERENCE\n\nA pre-submission conference is scheduled for this Solicitation. Conference registration is located here.\nRegistration closes % hour before the conference scheduled date and time. Attendee should join the\nconference a minimum of 5 minutes before the conference is scheduled to commence. Late attendees\n\nmay not be admitted.\n\nThe conference provides attendees equal opportunity to seek clarifications regarding this Solicitation.\nFailure to attend the pre-submission conference may result in rejection of non-attendee inquiries. Each\nRespondent will be given the opportunity to ask questions and is responsible for taking meeting notes.\nOne person from the Respondent should be designated to ask questions when prompted by the\nmeeting host for teleconference meetings. All additional attendees should remain muted. Attendees\nmust fully review all Solicitation documents and correspondence prior to the conference. Attendee shall\nbe an employee or authorized reseller of the Respondent with requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities\nto participate.\n\nAttendee assumes all risks, costs, and expenses, including technological difficulties, associated with\nmeeting attendance. Attendee may not screenshot or record any part ofthe meeting including the\naudio. An attendee requiring special services is asked to provide requirements to the Kent County\nPurchasing Division at least 48 hours in advance to allow for accommodations.\n\nREQUEST FOR PROPOSAL SUBMISSION\n\nComplete submissions must be received in the Kent County Purchasing Division on or before the due\ndate/time specified by the designated clock (local time). Late, faxed, or emailed submissions will NOT\nbe considered.\n\nSubmissions may be submitted electronically on the Bid Opportunities page of the Kent County\nPurchasing Division's website. Respondent must include a complete proposal as 1 non-password\nprotected PDF document.\n\nThe time required to upload a submission may vary. Respondent assumes all risks associated with\nelectronic submission, including technological difficulties, and deems the County and its service provider\nharmless and without fault. Successful electronic submissions are confirmed via Respondent's email.\nRespondent shall view the link in the confirmation email to determine accuracy prior to due date/time.\n\nSubmissions must be in the format outlined below:\n\nBusiness Organization \u2014 One (1) page maximum\nState the full names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and websites of any parties and their\nprospective roles. State whether Respondent is authorized to do business in the State of Michigan.\n\nQualifications - Three (3) pages maximum\n\nSummarize Respondent's strong points and how their experience, particularly with similar\nresponsibilities, will benefit the stakeholders. Provide a statement of qualification and what makes\nyou uniquely qualified compared to others to provide these services. Describe your proficiency and\nexperiences with comparable project engagements and share any other relevant special expertise\nyou have that should be considered for this engagement.\n\nPage 4 0f5\n" "Recommendation - Ten (10) pages maximum\n\nProvide a recommendation focusing on the functionality and information technology specifications.\nEmphasis on clarity and detail is an important consideration in the evaluation process. Sales and\nMarketing material will not be used to determine the award and is not desired.\n\nTimeline & Expectations \u2014 Two (2) pages maximum\nProvide a timeline to implement the recommendation efficiently and effectively with emphasis on\n\nkey deliverables and milestones. Disclose necessary County resources, staffing and/or identify other\nrequirements to implement each phase of the recommendation.\n\nPricing Methodology - Two (2) pages maximum\nThe County understands only high-level estimates can be provided until detailed information and\n\nadditional discussion takes place. Although budget estimates will be considered, they still will be\ntreated as such and will not be considered binding in any respects. Binding cost proposals may be\nrequested through a subsequent \"best and final offer\" Request for Proposal (RFP) process of\nCounty-selected Respondent finalists. Respondent shall provide a cost-effective pricing\nmethodology with attention to detail and understandability that includes a properly designed and\nimplemented all-inclusive response costs necessary to implement the proposed solution.\n\nReferences - One (1) page maximum\n\nProvide three (3) relevant references, preferably for projects of similar scope and complexity.\nInclude the organization, contact person, current telephone number, email address, description and\ndates of service and total cost. References shall not include any current/past Kent County\nemployees.\n\nPage number maximums are strongly recommended but not compulsorily disqualifying. Kent County is\nnot liable for costs incurred prior to award. A submission constitutes an irrevocable offer for a period of\n45 days from the due date/time. In the event the notification of award is not made within 45 days from\nthe due date/time, the Respondent may withdraw or provide a written extension of their submission.\n\nSubmissions may only be withdrawn by written request if the request is received before the due\ndate/time. Withdrawals after opening shall be subject to Kent County Fiscal Policy - Centralized\nPurchasing 5(i)(2).\n\nNO BID\nPlease provide feedback if you are electing not to participate in this Solicitation.\n\nPage 5 0f5\n"