SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE

Transcription

1 Request for Proposals Abstract Request for Proposals to upgrade Perceptive Content 6.7 to Perceptive content Date Issued: Monday, August Proposal Due: Friday, October by 3:00PM PST

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3 I. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF PROJECT 4 II. PROJECT OVERVIEW 5 III. PROJECT OBJECTIVES and DELIVERABLES 6 IV. SFERS CURRENT ENVIRONMENT 7 Perceptive Content 7 Current Hardware 7 Updated Hardware 9 V. UPGRADE STRATEGY 10 VI. PROPOSAL EVALUATION 11 Technical Evaluation 13 Financial Evaluation 13 VII. SCHEDULE 15 Time and Place for Submission of Responses 16 VI. TERMS and CONDITIONS for RECEIPT of PROPOSALS 19 APPENDIX A - REQUIRED RESPONDING FIRM FORMS 24 AUGUST PAGE 2 OF 27

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5 I. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF PROJECT The City and County of San Francisco Employees Retirement System ( SFERS ) is governed by the Charter of the City and County of San Francisco. The Retirement System staff is responsible for administering two employee benefit programs for approximately 60,000 members (34,000 active and 26,000 retired) for the City and County of San Francisco: San Francisco Employees Retirement System (a $20 billion public defined benefit plan) and San Francisco Deferred Compensation Program (an IRS 457(b) Plan). SFERS installed Perceptive Content version 6.7 in 2013 and is seeking the services of an experienced Upgrade Partner to assist SFERS in the upgrade to Perceptive Content (or later). The Upgrade Partner will: 1. Meet with SFERS technical and functional staff and provide a detailed statement of work with project milestones detailing how the Upgrade Partner will assist SFERS in upgrading to Perceptive Content (or later) 2. Commit a dedicated resource to work with SFERS technical staff either remotely or on-site on an agreed upon cost 3. Review hardware configuration and provide guidelines that would maximize system efficiency 4. Review current workflows and routing rules and provide recommendations to maximize system efficiency 5. Provide a detailed knowledge transfer plan covering system installation, configuration, and maintenance/support The selected Upgrade Partner must have substantial experience in all areas of: Perceptive Content Upgrades Knowledge Transfer and Training MS SQL Updates Solution Review and Best Practices Recommendations Selection of a finalist(s) and determination of compliance with minimum qualifications is solely and exclusively within the judgment of SFERS and may be made solely on the basis of SFERS evaluation of candidates suitability. AUGUST PAGE 4 OF 27

6 II. PROJECT OVERVIEW SFERS plans to upgrade the current 6.7 installation of Perceptive Content to Perceptive Content (or later) and stand-up 3 environments: DEVELOPMENT: Will be used by the SFERS IT Business Analysts Team for development of new workflows, security profiles, testing of scripts, routing rules, alarms and other automation tools. TEST: Will be used for staging user testing and act as a back-up environment should the production system become unavailable. PRODUCTION: Will be the primary production system. The upgrade will include updating the following Perceptive modules as well as an update of MS SQL Server from 2012 to MS SQL Server 2016, Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2016 and the possible addition of Enterprise Search *) : REC AGENT CONTENT SERVER OUTPUT AGENT DOCUMENT CONTROL SUITE E-FORMS INTERACT FOR MS OFFICE CAPTURE NOW ADRENALINE BUSINESS INSIGHT *) *) SFERS is exploring the possibility of not utilizing BI and using the BI Remote Agent server as an Enterprise Search Server AUGUST PAGE 5 OF 27

7 III. PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND DELIVERABLES OBJECTIVE Upgrade SFERS implementation of Perceptive Content from version 6.7 to Perceptive Content (or later) which would include: Assist with the move from MS SQL 2012 to MS SQL 2016 Assist in doing a clean install of Perceptive Content (or later) on SFERS Production (PROD) and Test (TEST) servers Install and configure Perceptive Content Enterprise Search Migrate Perceptive Content & related components from version 6.7 to version (or later) Assist with the copy/move of OSM files from existing PROD to new PROD Provide one week of Go-Live Support Support Go-Live Cutover to new PROD Support Post Go-Live Activities Services shall be provided as a fixed fee engagement and shall be for remote, offsite technical support unless otherwise agreed on by SFERS. REQUIREMENTS Upgrade Partner shall provide a mutually agreed upon project plan at the kick-off meeting (after contract execution) and should include: 1-2 weeks for the TEST Environment upgrade 2-4 weeks for Acceptance Testing STAGE I (1) 1-2 weeks for the PROD Environment upgrade 1-2 weeks for Acceptance Testing and cutover STAGE II (1) 1-2 weeks for the DEV Environment upgrade 1-2 weeks for Acceptance Testing STAGE III (1) All services must be performed remotely during normal business hours (M-F 7:00 AM 3:00 PM PST). (1) See Section V-Upgrade Strategy for a full discussion of SFERS upgrade strategy and proposed stages. DELIVERABLES 1. Upgrade ImageNow application from ImageNow 6.7 to Perceptive Content (or later) in both the PROD Environment and the TEST Environment and assist in the installation of a new Development (DEV) environment. 2. Upgrade web server components: a. Upgrade Java b. Upgrade Apache Tomcat c. Upgrade to Perceptive Content Experience 3. Complete PROD and TEST upgrade for SFERS testing and acceptance on or about Q AUGUST PAGE 6 OF 27

8 IV. SFERS CURRENT ENVIRONMENT SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE Perceptive Content SFERS utilizes multiple drawers to support multiple departments, including: DEPARTMENT/DRAWER # OF PAGES # OF DOCS OPERATIONS GENERAL MEMBER DOCUMENTS # OF PEAK CONCURRENT COMMENTS USERS 5 million 700 K 30 Confidential member correspondence and forms. Includes a Link/QA workflow with routing rules OPERATIONS - WORK IN PROCESS 1K Confidential member forms in process. Includes a Link, Process, Review, Release Workflow that utilizes routing rules, e- authorize and cross process routing OPERATIONS - TEMPLATES AND 1K 100 FORMS OPERATIONS - MEMBER LEGAL 7K 60 4 Confidential member legal case files Includes a Link, Folder Creation, Process, Review Workflow that utilizes version control, routing rules and cross process routing OPERATIONS DISABILITY CASE FILES 1 million 200 K 4 Confidential member disability case files IScripts SFERS utilizes 4 small iscripts to change the value in field3 in a capture application plan. Current Hardware SFERS currently has 2 environments housed on the following hardware PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT: IMAGENOW SERVER: DATABASE SERVER: BUSINESS INSIGHT REMOTE AGENT SERVER: SAN STORAGE SERVER: FAX SERVER: Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise (64Bit), 16GB memory, 2 processors C: 300GB, D:10TB (connected to SAN storage), RAID 5 Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise (64Bit), 16GB memory, 2 processors C: 180GB, E:1TB, RAID 10, Microsoft SQL 2012 Windows 2008 (32 Bit), 8GB memory, 2 processors C: 300GB. 16TB, 4GB memory, RAID Z2 Windows 2008 (32 Bit), 4GB memory, CPU C: 1TB. AUGUST PAGE 7 OF 27

9 TEST ENVIRONMENT: SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE IMAGENOW SERVER: DATABASE SERVER: BUSINESS INSIGHT REMOTE AGENT SERVER: SAN STORAGE SERVER: Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise (64Bit), 16GB memory, 2 processors C: 300GB, D:10TB (connected to SAN storage), RAID 5 Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise (64Bit), 16GB memory, 2 processors C: 180GB, E:1TB, RAID 10, Microsoft SQL 2012 Windows 2008 (32 Bit), 8GB memory, 2 processors C: 300GB. 16TB, 4GB memory, RAID Z2 SCANNERS: SFERS currently has 2 KODAK scanners utilizing KODAK Capture and Perceptive Capture Now Adrenaline with Kofax VRS there are no plans to change the SFERS capture tools at this time. AUGUST PAGE 8 OF 27

10 Updated Hardware PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT: CONTENT SERVER: DATABASE SERVER: BUSINESS INSIGHT REMOTE AGENT SERVER *) : INTEGRATION SERVER: SAN STORAGE SERVER: Windows server 2012 R2 Standard, 64GB memory, 2 processors C: 9.6TB Raw, 7.2TB RAID 5 with hot spare, D:40TB (connected to SAN storage) Windows server 2012 R2 Standard, 64GB memory, 2 processors Disk space: 9.6TB Raw, RAID 10 (4.4TB), Microsoft SQL Server 2016 SP1 Enterprise Windows server 2012 R2 Standard, 64GB memory, 2 processors Disk space: 9.6TB Raw, RAID 10 (4.4TB) Windows server 2012 R2 Standard, 64GB memory, 2 processors Disk space: 9.6TB Raw, RAID 10 (4.4TB). 2 processors Disk pace (40TB Raw), 29.1TB RAID Z2, 64GB memory TEST ENVIRONMENT: CONTENT SERVER: DATABASE SERVER: BUSINESS INSIGHT REMOTE AGENT SERVER *) : INTEGRATION SERVER: SAN STORAGE SERVER: Windows server 2012 R2 Standard, 64GB memory, 2 processors C: 9.6TB Raw, 7.2TB RAID 5 with hot spare, D:40TB (connected to SAN storage) Windows server 2012 R2 Standard, 64GB memory, 2 processors Disk space: 9.6TB Raw, RAID 10 (4.4TB), Microsoft SQL Server 2016 SP1 Enterprise Windows server 2012 R2 Standard, 64GB memory, 2 processors Disk space: 9.6TB Raw, RAID 10 (4.4TB) Windows server 2012 R2 Standard, 64GB memory, 2 processors Disk space: 9.6TB Raw, RAID 10 (4.4TB). 2 processors Disk pace (40TB Raw), 29.1TB RAID Z2, 64GB memory DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT: The hardware listed under PRODUCTION in the CURRENT HARDWARE section above will be updated to Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard and SQL Server 2016 and reused for the DEV environment. *) SFERS is exploring the possibility of not utilizing BI and using the BI Remote Agent server as an Enterprise Search Server AUGUST PAGE 9 OF 27

11 V. UPGRADE STRATEGY SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE To minimize disruption and allow time for the ECM Core Team to test and become familiar with Content 7.2, the following stages are proposed as part of the overall upgrade strategy: STAGE I- TEST SERVER: 1. SFERS will set-up new hardware 2. SFERS will install Windows Server Software 3. Upgrade Partner will stage new MS SQL 4. Upgrade Partner will install and configure new version of Perceptive Content including: a. Perceptive Enterprise Search *) b. Perceptive Experience 5. Upgrade Partner will copy PROD data to TEST 6. Upgrade Partner will copy Images to new OSM 7. System turned over to ECM Core Team for testing 8. SFERS Business Analysts will use the new system to prepare training documents 9. Upgrade Partner will validate SFERS update script used to copy PROD to TEST 10. SFERS will set-up periodic copy from PROD to TEST 11. Upgrade Partner will provide SFERS technical staff with written upgrade procedures STAGE II - PRODUCTION SERVER: 1. SFERS will set-up new hardware 2. SFERS will install Windows Server Software 3. Upgrade Partner will stage new MS SQL 4. Upgrade Partner will install and configure new version of Perceptive Content including: a. Perceptive Enterprise Search *) b. Perceptive Experience 5. Upgrade Partner will copy PROD data to new PROD 6. Parallel Processing 7. System turned over to ECM Core Team for testing 8. User Testing 9. Cut-over 10. Upgrade Partner will provide SFERS technical staff with written upgrade procedures STAGE III - DEVELOPMENT SERVER: 1. SFERS will reconfigure old Production Server 2. SFERS will install Windows Server Software 3. SFERS will stage new MS SQL 4. SFERS will install Perceptive Content including Perceptive Enterprise Search and Perceptive Experience 5. SFERS/Upgrade Partner will configure Perceptive Content *) SFERS is exploring the possibility of not utilizing BI and using the BI Remote Agent server as an Enterprise Search Server AUGUST PAGE 10 OF 27

12 V. PROPOSAL EVALUATION SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE This RFP consists of 3 distinct components and are noted as: ATTACHMENT A - RFP TECHNICAL RESPONSE ATTACHMENT B - UPGRADE PARTNER REFERENCES ATTACHMENT C - RFP Cost PROPOSAL Each Responding Firm (Bidder) must submit three originals and one copy of the completed Attachment A-RFP Technical Response. The originals must be a hard copy, printed on paper and signed in ink. The copy shall be a digital copy, sent via e- mail attachment, or on CD, DVD, or flash drive. Each Responding Firm must also submit three originals and one copy of the completed Attachment B-Responding Firm References. The originals must be a hard copy, printed on paper and signed in ink. The copy shall be a digital copy, sent via e- mail attachment, or on CD, DVD, or flash drive. Firms interested in responding to this RFP must submit the following information, in the order specified below: 1. Introduction and Executive Summary Submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the proposal. A person authorized by your firm to obligate your firm to perform the commitments contained in the proposal must sign the letter. Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by your firm that your firm is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal. Include name, mailing address, address, and telephone number of a contact person. Provide the address of the local office that will service this account. 2. Project Approach Describe the services and activities that your firm proposes to provide to SFERS. Include the following information: a. Overall scope of work tasks; b. Schedule and ability to complete the project within SFERS required time frame (a realistic timeline for completion of each phase of the project); and c. Assignment of work within your firm s work team. 3. Firm Qualifications Provide information on your firm s background and qualifications which addresses the following: a. Name, address, telephone number and address of a contact person; b. A brief description of your firm, as well as how any joint venture or association would be structured; c. Explain any potential for "conflict" your firm would have in servicing SFERS. "Conflict" may AUGUST PAGE 11 OF 27

13 include, consulting relationships, employee relationships, fee relationships with money managers, brokerage relationships, etc. What procedures are in place that would mitigate or eliminate potential conflicts of interest? 4. Team Qualifications a. Provide a list identifying: (i) each key person on the project team, (ii) the project manager, (iii) the role each will play in the project, and (iv) a written assurance that the key individuals listed and identified will be performing the work and will not be substituted with other personnel or reassigned to another project without SFERS prior approval. b. Provide a description of the experience and qualifications of the project team members, including brief resumes if necessary. 5. References Provide references for the lead firm, and all sub-upgrade Partners, including the name, street address, address and telephone number of no less than three (3) and no more than five (5) clients. A description of not more than three (3) projects similar in size and scope prepared by your firm including client, reference and telephone numbers, staff members who worked on each project, budget, schedule and project summary. Descriptions should be limited to one page for each project. If joint Upgrade Partners or sub-upgrade Partners are proposed provide the above information for each. The completed form must be included in the RFP response packet along with an electronic copy on CD. Failure to complete ATTACHMENT A RFP TECHNICAL RESPONSE and ATTACHMENT B UPGRADE PARTNER REFERENCES may result in disqualification of the entire RFP Response Packet. The evaluation process must independently evaluate technical merit and cost; therefore, it is essential that your Cost Proposal (Attachment C) be a separate document from your RFP Response (Attachment A) and References (Attachment B). Do not include cost information in your RFP Response or References. SFERS reserves the right to photocopy additional copies of any or all parts of the proposal for the evaluation and selection process. All proposals will be evaluated by the SFERS RFP Evaluation Committee (The Committee). SFERS may classify a proposal as "not reasonably qualified for award" if it does not meet the requirements of this solicitation. SFERS may also determine that a Responding Firm is "not qualified", i.e., does not have the capabilities in all respects to perform the work required. Should a proposal be found not reasonably qualified for award, or if a Responding Firm is found not qualified, the proposal will not be considered further and the Responding Firm will be notified accordingly. The Committee will make a recommendation for award of this contract to the responsible Responding Firm whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to SFERS, considering both technical and cost factors as set forth in this RFP. Technical merit will have greater weight than cost. AUGUST PAGE 12 OF 27

14 Proposal Acceptance; Discussions: This RFP creates no obligation on the part SFERS to award a contract or to compensate Responding Firms for proposal preparation expenses. SFERS reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals, in whole or in part, received in response to this RFP; to award to more than one Upgrade Partner; to waive or permit cure of minor irregularities; and to conduct discussions with qualified Upgrade Partners in any manner necessary to serve the best interest SFERS. Discussions may be conducted with those Responding Firms who submit proposals initially judged by the Committee to be reasonably qualified of being selected for award. However, SFERS reserves the right to award a contract based upon the proposals received without further discussions. Technical Evaluation The Committee shall conduct its evaluation of the technical merit of the proposals in accordance with the project scope, requirements and criteria in this RFP. A Responding Firm must satisfy and explicitly respond to ALL the specifications and requirements, including a detailed explanation of how each item is to be met. The Committee will rank each qualified proposal on technical merit. The criteria that will be used by The Committee for the technical evaluation of proposals for this procurement are listed below in descending order of relative importance (most important listed first): Quality of the proposal and Project Plan, addressing technical requirements. Quality of past performance as judged by references. Ability to complete the work by Q Quality of resumes for key personnel to be assigned to this project. Financial Evaluation Concurrent with the technical evaluation, the separate cost/financial volume of each qualified proposal will be distributed to The Committee. The Committee will evaluate each qualified proposal. That information will be used to establish a financial ranking (from lowest to highest). Information from ATTACHMENT C- RFP COST PROPOSAL will be used to compute the total cost. If progress payments are requested, each progress payment should be tied to a specific contract deliverable or milestone. Please provide the requested schedule of progress payments (including specific contract deliverable or milestone) with ATTACHMENT C-RFP COST PROPOSAL. Compensation - Progress Payment Schedule It is SFERS strong preference to make one payment upon acceptance of the work by SFERS. The successful Upgrade Partner s proper invoice will be paid on a net 30-day basis. AUGUST PAGE 13 OF 27

15 A. Minimum Qualifications SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE The Responding Firm must have at least five (5) years of experience in ECM implementation and integration including upgrades of Perceptive Content. Any proposal that does not demonstrate that the Responding Firm meets these minimum requirements by the deadline for submittal of proposals will be considered non-responsive and will not be eligible for award of the contract. B. Selection Criteria The proposals will be evaluated by The Committee. SFERS intends to evaluate the proposals generally in accordance with the criteria itemized below. The Responding Firms with the highest scoring proposals may be interviewed to make the final selection. 1. ABILITY TO MEET SFERS TIMEFRAMES AND SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS (35 points) 2. EXPERIENCE OF RESPONDING FIRM AND SUB-UPGRADE PARTNERS (25 points) 3. PROJECT APPROACH (20 points) 4. ASSIGNED PROJECT STAFF (15 points) 5. ORAL INTERVIEW (5 points) Following the evaluation of the written proposals, SFERS may select a number of Responding Firms who will be invited to an oral interview. The interview will consist of standard questions asked of each of the Responding Firms, and specific questions regarding each individual proposal. AUGUST PAGE 14 OF 27

16 VII. SCHEDULE SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE A. The anticipated schedule for this Request for Proposals is shown below: RFP IS ISSUED AND ADVERTISED 8/14/2017 DEADLINE TO SUBMIT WRITTEN QUESTIONS/REQUESTS FOR INTERPRETATION 9/01/2017 RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS PROVIDED TO ALL RESPONDENTS 9/22/2017 RFP DUE DATE 10/06/2017 PHONE INTERVIEWS WITH FINALISTS 10/13/2017 UPGRADE PARTNER SELECTION 10/20/2017 CONTRACT AND FEE NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN 10/23/2017 PROJECT KICK-OFF 11/27/2017 PROJECT COMPLETION Q SFERS reserves the right to change this schedule for any reason at any time. B. Explanation of Events 1. Release of RFP the RFP will be advertised and posted in the City s Bid and Opportunity newsletter. The RFP will be posted on the SFERS website at and the RFP will be released to a list of potentially qualified firms as determined by SFERS. All firms meeting minimum qualifications are welcome to participate. 2. SFERS will keep a record of all parties who request and receive copies of the RFP. Any requests for information concerning the RFP must be in writing or ed to Craig Lee (Craig.Lee@sfgov.org), and any substantive replies will be issued as written addenda to all parties who have requested and received a copy of the RFP. No questions or requests for interpretation will be accepted after 9/01/2017 In preparing their responses, candidates should rely only on written material concerning this RFP as issued by SFERS. 3. SFERS will respond to all Candidates written questions by 9/22/2017 Deadline for submission of responses is 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, 10/06/2017 NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS DEADLINE WILL BE GRANTED. 4. Submissions will be considered public documents. Any material that the candidate considers Business- Confidential should be so marked. AUGUST PAGE 15 OF 27

17 Time and Place for Submission of Responses RFP RESPONSE and REFERENCES The deadline for submission of the firm s response is Friday, October at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Please submit three (3) completed paper copies of the response and one full and complete electronic copy of the response on CD by the deadline date and time to: Craig Lee, Information Systems and Business Services Director Attn RFP Perceptive Content Upgrade Project San Francisco Employees Retirement System 1145 Market Street, 5th Floor San Francisco, CA Responses which are submitted by fax or will not be accepted. INSTRUCTIONS Please go to Navigate to ABOUT SFERS > REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL and download SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE, ATTACHMENT A RFP TECHNICAL RESPONSE and ATTACHMENT B - RESPONDING FIRM REFERENCES to provide the information requested. FEE PROPOSAL SFERS intends to award this contract to the firm that it considers will provide the best overall services. SFERS reserves the right to accept other than the lowest priced offer and to reject any proposals that are not responsive to this request. Please provide a fee proposal in a sealed envelope that includes the following: i. Total fee for each of the phases identified in the Scope of Work with a not-to-exceed figure; and ii. Hourly rates for all team members. Hourly rates and itemized costs may be used to negotiate changes in the Scope of Work if necessary. iii. Any additional software licensing costs necessary to meet SFERS Requirements. iv. Any additional hardware costs if to be provided by your firm or estimated hardware costs if to be acquired by SFERS. Additionally, please indicate approximate lead-time for the hardware to be installed and tested before software installation and configuration can begin. AUGUST PAGE 16 OF 27

18 INSTRUCTIONS SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE Please go to Navigate to About SFERS > Request for Proposal and download ATTACHMENT C COST PROPOSAL and complete the form by providing a fixed cost proposal for services. The completed form must be mailed in a separate envelope along with an electronic copy on CD to: Jim Burruel, Finance Manager San Francisco Employees Retirement System Attention: RFP Perceptive Content Upgrade Project 1145 Market Street, 5th Floor San Francisco, CA Failure to complete ATTACHMENT C COST PROPOSAL may result in disqualification of the entire RFP Response Packet. For the duration of the RFP process, the City and County of San Francisco Employees Retirement System and the Retirement Board will enter into a blackout period during which communications and meetings between interested parties and SFERS staff and Retirement Board members will be prohibited. This blackout is effective immediately upon release of this Request for Proposal. This blackout will enable SFERS to treat all respondents fairly during the RFP process and permit the Retirement System review of the responses without bias. Blackout conditions are outlined below: Interested parties are to refrain from meetings or communications with staff of the Employees Retirement System and Retirement Board members. The only exceptions are communications or meetings with Jay Huish, Executive Director of the Retirement System, and publicly noticed meetings of the Retirement Board. Communications include telephone conversations, letters, and . Interested parties may meet with staff at the Employees Retirement System or a Board member only if the meeting consists of an exchange of information that is not relevant to the RFP. The Executive Director of the Retirement System will be notified of these meetings and any meeting will be documented. If you have any questions regarding the blackout please contact Norm Nickens, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director at (415) AUGUST PAGE 17 OF 27

19 C. CONTRACT AWARD To be considered, all proposals must comply with the requirements and specifications outlined in this RFP. During contract negotiations, if SFERS or its agent is unable to agree to contract terms with the Responding Firm receiving the highest evaluation in this RFP process, SFERS reserves the right to terminate contract negotiations with that Responding Firm without undertaking another RFP process, and to negotiate with the Responding Firm receiving the next highest evaluation. 1. TERMINATION This RFP in no manner obligates SFERS or any of its agencies to the eventual procurement of services described, implied or which may be proposed, until confirmed by a written contract. Progress toward this end is solely at the discretion of SFERS and may terminate at any time prior to the signing of a contract. SFERS reserves the right to cancel this RFP at any time and to reject any and all proposals submitted in response to this RFP, if SFERS determines such action or actions are in its best interest. 2. PROPOSAL APPLICABILITY To allow sufficient time for contract negotiation, all fees and conditions stated in the proposal must be firm for a period of 180 days from the deadline for submission of proposals. 3. NEGOTIATION REQUIREMENTS SFERS reserves the right to negotiate a change in terms if the representatives assigned by the respondent firm are not meeting SFERS needs adequately. 4. LEGAL REVIEW SFERS expects that all candidates will agree to be bound by the terms and conditions articulated in this RFP. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that Responding Firms have the terms and conditions contained herein reviewed with counsel and that concerns be brought to the attention of SFERS Staff in a timely manner. 5. GOVERNING LAW This procurement and any agreement with Responding Firms that may result shall be governed by the laws of the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco. Submission of a proposal constitutes acceptance of this condition. 6. BASIS FOR PROPOSAL Only information supplied by the SFERS Staff in writing or in this RFP should be used in the preparation of proposals. 7. PROPOSAL PREPARATION COST Any cost incurred by the Responding Firm in the preparation, transmittal or presentation of any proposal or material submitted in response to this RFP will be borne solely by the Responding Firm. 8. RESPONDING FIRM QUALIFICATION SFERS may take such investigations as necessary to determine the ability of the Responding Firm to adhere to the items as identified within the questionnaire portion of this RFP. SFERS reserves the right to reject the proposal of any Responding Firm who, in SFERS opinion, is not a responsible candidate as defined below: Responsible candidate means a candidate who submits a complete proposal and who has furnished, when required, information and data to prove that its financial resources, production and service facilities, personnel, service reputation and experience are adequate to make satisfactory delivery of the services described in the proposal. 9. NON-DISCRIMINATION IN CONTRACTS - All contracts are subject to the non-discrimination ordinance of the City and County of San Francisco. Responding Firms should note the provision prohibiting discrimination by Responding Firms in the provision of benefits between employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses, and/or between the domestic partners and spouses of such employees. AUGUST PAGE 18 OF 27

20 VI. TERMS and CONDITIONS for RECEIPT of PROPOSALS SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE A. Errors and Omissions in RFP Responding Firms are responsible for reviewing all portions of this RFP. Responding Firms are to promptly notify SFERS, in writing, if the Responding Firm discovers any ambiguity, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the RFP. Any such notification should be directed to SFERS promptly after discovery, but in no event later than five working days prior to the date for receipt of proposals. Modifications and clarifications will be made by addenda as provided below. B. INQUIRIES REGARDING RFP Inquiries regarding the RFP and all oral notifications of intent to request written modification or clarification of the RFP must be submitted via or directed in writing to: Craig Lee, Information Systems and Business Services Director City and County of San Francisco Employees Retirement System Attention: RFP Perceptive Content Upgrade Project 1145 Market Street, 5 th Floor San Francisco, CA Telephone: (415) Craig.Lee@sfgov.org C. ADDENDA TO RFP SFERS may modify the RFP, prior to the response due date, by issuing written addenda. Addenda will be sent electronically via from Craig Lee (Craig.Lee@sfgov.org) or via regular, first class U.S. mail to the last known business address of each firm listed with SFERS as having received a copy of the RFP. SFERS will make reasonable efforts to notify Respondents in a timely manner of modifications to the RFP. Notwithstanding this provision, the Responding Firm shall be responsible for ensuring that its response reflects any and all addenda issued by SFERS prior to the response due date regardless of when the response is submitted. D. REVISION OF RESPONSE A Responding Firm may revise a response on the Responding Firm s own initiative at any time before the deadline for submission of responses. The Responding Firm must submit the revised response in the same manner as the original. A revised response must be received on or before the response due date. E. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SFERS accepts no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by a firm in responding to this RFP. Responses to the RFP and associated materials will become the property of SFERS and may be used by SFERS in any way deemed appropriate. F. RESPONDING FIRM S OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE CAMPAIGN REFORM ORDINANCE Responding Firms must comply with Section of the S.F. Campaign and Government Conduct Code, which states: AUGUST PAGE 19 OF 27

21 No person who contracts with the City and County of San Francisco, for the rendition of personal services, for the furnishing of any material, supplies or equipment to the City, or for selling any land or building to the City, whenever such transaction would require approval by a City elective officer, or the board on which that City elective officer serves, shall make any contribution to such an officer, or candidates for such an office, or committee controlled by such officer or candidate at any time between commencement of negotiations and the later of either (1) the termination of negotiations for such contract, or (2) three months have elapsed from the date the contract is approved by SFERS or the board on which a City elective officer serves. If a Responding Firm is negotiating for a contract that must be approved by an elected local officer or the board on which that officer serves, during the negotiation period the Responding Firm is prohibited from making contributions to: the officer s re-election campaign a candidate for that officer s office a committee controlled by the officer or candidate The negotiation period begins with the first point of contact, either by telephone, in person, or in writing, when a Responding Firm approaches any city officer or employee about a particular contract, or a city officer or employee initiates communication with a potential Upgrade Partner about a contract. The negotiation period ends when a contract is awarded or not awarded to the Responding Firm. Examples of initial contacts include: (i) a Responding Firm contacts a city officer or employee to promote himself or herself as a candidate for a contract; and (ii) a city officer or employee contacts a potential Upgrade Partner to propose that the potential Upgrade Partner apply for a contract. Inquiries for information about a particular contract, requests for documents relating to a Request for Proposal, and requests to be placed on a mailing list do not constitute negotiations. Violation of Section1.126 may result in the following criminal, civil or administrative penalties: (a) Criminal. Any person who knowingly or willfully violates section is subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and a jail term of not more than six months, or both. (b) Civil. Any person who intentionally or negligently violates section may be held liable in a civil action brought by the civil prosecutor for an amount up to $5,000. (c) Administrative. Any person who intentionally or negligently violates section may be held liable in an administrative proceeding before the Ethics Commission held pursuant to the Charter for an amount up to $5,000 for each violation. For further information, Responding Firms should contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at (415) G. SUNSHINE ORDINANCE In accordance with S.F. Administrative Code Section 67.24(e), Responding Firms bids, responses to RFPs and all other records of communications between the City and persons or firms seeking contracts shall be open to inspection immediately after a contract has been awarded. Nothing in this provision requires the disclosure of a private person s or organization s net worth or other proprietary financial data submitted for qualification for a contract or other benefits until and unless that person or organization is awarded AUGUST PAGE 20 OF 27

22 the contract or benefit. Information provided which is covered by this paragraph will be made available to the public upon request. H. PUBLIC ACCESS TO MEETINGS AND RECORDS If a Responding Firm is a non-profit entity that receives a cumulative total per year of at least $250,000 in City funds or City-administered funds and is a non-profit organization as defined in Chapter 12L of the S.F. Administrative Code, the Responding Firm must comply with the reporting requirements of that Chapter. The Responding Firm must include in its proposal (1) a statement describing its efforts to comply with the Chapter 12L provisions regarding public access to Responding Firm s meetings and records, and (2) a summary of all complaints concerning the Responding Firm s compliance with Chapter 12L that were filed with the City in the last two years and deemed by the City to be substantiated. The summary shall also describe the disposition of each complaint. If no such complaints were filed, the Responding Firm shall include a statement to that effect. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements of Chapter 12L or material misrepresentation in Responding Firm s Chapter 12L submissions shall be grounds for rejection of the proposal and/or termination of any subsequent Agreement reached on the basis of the proposal. I. RESERVATIONS OF RIGHTS BY SFERS The issuance of this RFP does not constitute an agreement by SFERS that any contract will actually be entered into by SFERS. SFERS expressly reserves the right at any time to: 1. Waive or correct any defect or informality in any response, proposal, or proposal procedure; 2. Reject any or all proposals; 3. Reissue a Request for Proposals; 4. Prior to submission deadline for proposals, modify all or any portion of the selection procedures, including deadlines for accepting responses, the specifications or requirements for any materials, equipment or services to be provided under this RFP, or the requirements for contents or format of the proposals; 5. Procure any materials, equipment or services specified in this RFP by any other means; or 6. Determine that no project will be pursued. J. NO WAIVER No waiver by SFERS of any provision of this RFP shall be implied from any failure by SFERS to recognize or take action on account of any failure by a Responding Firm to observe any provision of this RFP. K. LOCAL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PARTICIPATION SFERS strongly encourages proposals from qualified Local Business Enterprises (LBEs) as defined in Chapter 14.B of the San Francisco Administrative Code. Pursuant to Chapter 14.B, the following rating discount (score multiplier bonus) will be in effect for the award of this project for any Responding Firms who are certified by the City s Human Rights Commission (HRC) as a LBE or joint venture partners who are certified as a LBE at the time that the proposal is submitted. Certification applications may be obtained by calling HRC at The rating discount applies to each phase of the selection process. The application of the rating discount is as follows: AUGUST PAGE 21 OF 27

23 a. A five percent (5%) discount to a joint venture with a LBE participation that equals or exceeds 35%, but is under 40%; or b. A seven and one-half percent (7.5%) discount to a joint venture with LBE participation that equals or exceeds forty percent (40%). c. A ten percent (10%) discount to: 1) A LBE; or 2) A joint venture between or among LBEs. Required HRC forms (see Appendix A) are to be submitted under separate cover at the time you submit the proposal. If these forms are not filed at the time you submit your proposal, the proposal may be determined to be non-responsive and rejected. If applying for a rating discount as a joint venture: The LBE must be an active partner in the joint venture and perform work, manage the job and take financial risks in proportion to the required level of participation stated in the proposal, and must be responsible for a clearly defined portion of the work to be performed and share in the ownership, control, management responsibilities, risks, and profits of the joint venture. The portion of the LBE joint venture s work shall be set forth in detail separately from the work to be performed by the non-lbe joint venture partner. The LBE joint venture s portion of the contract must be assigned a commercially reasonable dollar value. If you have any questions concerning the HRC forms, you may call HRC at (415) The forms will be reviewed and approved by HRC prior to the award of this contract. L. CHAPTER 12B AND 12C: NONDISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS Chapter 12B and 12C of the San Francisco Administrative Code are incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. Chapters 12B and 12C prohibit discrimination by City vendors in employment, the use of property, the provision of public accommodations and in the provision of benefits to employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses, and/or between the domestic partners and spouses of such employees. Please refer to Appendix A regarding the requirements of San Francisco Administrative Code Chapters 12B and 12C. AUGUST PAGE 22 OF 27

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25 SFERS PERCEPTIVE CONTENT UPGRADE APPENDIX A - REQUIRED RESPONDING FIRM FORMS AUGUST PAGE 24 OF 27

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27 REQUIRED STANDARD FORMS Before the City can award any contract to a Responding Firm (Bidder), that Bidder must file the standard City forms listed as items 1-3 on the chart below and register as a Bidder with the Office of Contract Administration at: D=BIDDER Because many Bidders have already completed these forms, and because some informational forms are rarely revised, SFERS has not included them in the RFP package. Instead, this Appendix describes the forms, where to find them on the Internet (see bottom of page 2), and where to file them. All required forms are also available at the Office of Contract Administration Web site located at: If a Responding Firm cannot get the documents off the Internet, the Responding Firm should call (415) or oca@sfgov.org for assistance. If a Responding Firm has already filled out items 1-3 (see note under item 3) on the chart, the Responding Firm should not do so again unless the Responding Firm s answers have changed. To find out whether these forms have been submitted, the Responding Firm should call Vendor File Support at (415) or vendor.file.support@sfgov.org. If a Responding Firm would like to apply to be certified as a local business enterprise, it must submit item four. To find out about item four and certification, the Responding Firm should contact Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) at (415) ITEM FORM NAME AND INTERNET LOCATION FORM DESCRIPTION AND INTERNET LOCATION 1. REQUEST FOR TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER AND CERTIFICATION W-9 The City needs the Responding Firm s taxpayer ID number on this form. If a Responding Firm has already done business with the City, this form is not necessary because the City already has the number BUSINESS TAX DECLARATION P-25 All Responding Firms must complete this online form to determine if they must register with the Tax Collector, even if not located in San Francisco. All businesses that qualify as conducting business in San Francisco must register and sign the Business Registration form with the Treasurer & Tax Collector office. Business Registration Determination: Business Registration with the San Francisco Tax Collector: AUGUST PAGE 26 OF 27

28 ITEM FORM NAME AND INTERNET LOCATION FORM DESCRIPTION AND INTERNET LOCATION 3. S.F. ADMINISTRATIVE CODE CHAPTERS 12B & 12C DECLARATION: NONDISCRIMINATION IN CONTRACTS AND BENEFITS CMD- 12B- 101 Responding Firms must tell the City if their personnel policies meet the City s requirements for nondiscrimination against protected classes of people, and in the provision of benefits between employees with spouses and employees with domestic partners. Form submission is not complete if it does not include the additional documentation asked for on the form. Other forms may be required, depending on the answers on this form. Contract-by-Contract Compliance status contractors must fill out an additional form for each contract CMD LBE CERTIFICATION APPLICATION Local businesses complete this form to be certified by CMD as LBEs. Certified LBEs receive a rating bonus pursuant to Chapter 14B when bidding on City contracts. To receive the bid discount, you must be certified by CMD by the proposal due date. Where the forms are on the Internet: OFFICE OF CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Homepage: Required forms: Click on VENDOR INFORMATION > QUALIFY TO DO BUSINESS CONTRACT MONITORING DIVISION CMD S HOMEPAGE: EQUAL BENEFITS FORMS: LBE CERTIFICATION FORM: AUGUST PAGE 27 OF 27