Request for Proposals (RFP) Software Maintenance and Modifications/Enhancements Subcontractor

Transcription

1 Request for Proposals (RFP) Software Maintenance and Modifications/Enhancements Subcontractor For the Annie E. Casey Foundation Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative Opportunity Passport Data System and Opportunity Passport Participant Survey Issued by Child Trends Incorporated September 16, 2015 Child Trends Incorporated ( Child Trends ) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that studies children at all stages of development. We are dedicated to improving outcomes for children by providing research, data, and analyses to the people and institutions whose decisions and actions affect children. Child Trends is seeking a Software Maintenance and Modifications/Enhancements Subcontractor to maintain, modify, and enhance the Annie E. Casey Foundation Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative s SQL Server and WWW-based Opportunity Passport Data System (OPDS) and Opportunity Passport Participant Survey (OPPS). I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Child Trends was awarded a Contract with the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative for overall management of the Jim Casey Initiative, including the OPDS and OPPS databases. I.a THE JIM CASEY YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is named in memory of Jim Casey, the founder of the United Parcel Service (UPS), who established two national foundations to help improve the lives of American children and families. The mission of the Jim Casey Initiative is to ensure that young people -- primarily those between ages 14 and make successful transitions from foster care to adulthood. The Jim Casey Initiative advocates nationally and works with states to improve policies and practices, promote youth engagement, apply evaluation and research, and create community partnerships. The Jim Casey Initiative s work is intended to create opportunities for young people to achieve positive outcomes in permanence, education, employment, housing, health, financial capability, and social capital. The Jim Casey Initiative started in 2001 as a demonstration at ten sites and, as of 7/31/2015, was active in 17 states. Investments of the Jim Casey Initiative and its partners, currently held at over $12 million per year, have stimulated the allocation of over $131.5 million in public funds to help young people transition from foster care to adulthood.

2 I.b THE OPPORTUNITY PASSPORT The goals of the Jim Casey Initiative Opportunity Passport are to help young people become financially capable, gain experience with financial institutions, and amass assets for education, housing, transportation, etc. Qualifying asset categories are housing, health, education and training, vehicle, investments, micro-enterprise, credit building, and participant-specific items. Opportunity Passport includes matched savings, bank accounts, and financial education to help young people purchase life-altering assets such as cars, safe and stable housing, and computers for college. Research shows that young people who have assets at age 23 have better outcomes in employment, marriage, and health than those who do not. As of 7/31/2015, there were 2,866 active Opportunity Passport participants. The Jim Casey Initiative partners with organizations, persons, and groups of people to achieve shared goals. Information about each of these is carried in OPDS: A Lead Partner is the agency or organization within a state that assumes leadership to ensure all efforts are directed toward positive outcomes for young people in transition it is the point at which other partnerships are built. The Lead Partner provides the operational structure for managing the local implementation of the Jim Casey Initiative s Core Strategies on behalf of a site. A Community Partner is an individual or organization that brings important skills and resources to the community implementing the Core Strategies. Community partners include, but are not limited to, young people, funders, community and faith-based organizations, the business community, and public agencies. A Funder or Funding Partner is an organization, foundation, or a person who co-invests in the Core Strategies. The partner may be a single funder or a set of funders. They may financially support a single activity or a wide range of activities in a site. Additionally, the partner may financially support the Jim Casey Initiative, which utilizes the funds to support both site and national efforts. A Banking Partner is a financial institution that provides bank accounts for Opportunity Passport participants. I.c OPDS AND OPPS The Jim Casey Initiative uses two separate data systems to collect, maintain, and report data on Opportunity Passport itself and on participants, sites, and partners: the Opportunity Passport Data System (OPDS) and the Opportunity Passport Participant Survey (OPPS) system. In addition, there is a separate database (OP2) and interface used for training and testing. OP2 has dummy data for New York and also has some old site data that can be used for testing. The data are used for two main purposes: administration and evaluation. The Jim Casey Initiative collects and analyzes longitudinal data on the outcomes of young people transitioning from foster care. The data is used both to inform and to rally stakeholders around a common set of achievable outcomes and provide facts that underpin advocacy efforts. The data is also used to engage communities in a set of core strategies that show results for young people in and transitioning from foster care.

3 The Opportunity Passport Data System (OPDS) is a web-enabled data collection and reporting system provided by the Jim Casey Initiative to states and sites implementing the Opportunity Passport. OPDS collects, stores, and reports data on Opportunity Passport participants (demographics, contacts, financial education, asset training, asset purchases, match use, and savings), states (policy and practice improvements), sites (contacts, funding partners, and financial education curricula and leverage partners), strategies, and activities. OPDS data, including performance measures, is also used in state and site self-evaluation efforts. The Opportunity Passport Participant Survey was developed in to provide a way for Opportunity Passport participants to complete surveys and for the Jim Casey Initiative to manage, report, and export survey data. Its purpose is to collect demographic data and outcome data over time, along with a few performance measures. The OPPS system consists of a web-based survey and a website for generating reports based on the survey data. The survey is completed by each Opportunity Passport participant upon enrollment and every April and October thereafter. The survey has 50 numbered questions, many with subquestions. Unique survey IDs protect the identities of the participants. Blocks of Survey IDs are sent to the sites, which are responsible for distributing and tracking Survey ID assignment to the participants. II. SUBCONTRACTOR GENERAL DUTIES The Subcontractor will support Child Trends by providing 1) expert maintenance and troubleshooting and 2) modifications/enhancements to OPDS, OP2, and OPPS, including both the SQL Server back end data systems and WWW-based front end user interfaces, as needed. Child Trends staff perform routine data management tasks, such as cleaning data and deleting duplicate records. Child Trends has developed and maintains an OPDS/OPPS Administrator s Guide that will be made available to the Subcontractor. III. SCORING CRITERIA 1. Personnel. Experience of the proposed team members performing the exact or very similar activities: Developing and maintaining MS SQL Server data systems. Developing and maintaining WWW-based user interfaces. Developing and modifying SQL Server reports. Programming or using each software detailed in the Technical Appendix. Experience managing aggressive deadlines, even when unanticipated short-term requests are made. Ability to work seamlessly across multiple partners, including Child Trends and the OPDS and OPPS server host. Ability to achieve and maintain high customer satisfaction. Please be sure to note which team members have experience in each area and indicate any relevant Microsoft certifications. Also, limit any statement of corporate capabilities to one page or less.

4 Note that the subcontract will require the proposed personnel and that the contract will be withdrawn absent those personnel. 2. Data Security. Experience and capability to work with sensitive data. Applicants should detail its data security plan as part of its proposal. 3. Technical Approach. Proposed technical approach to provide the most effective and efficient means to achieve the goals. The technical approach should include anticipated challenges associated with SQL Server and WWW-based user interfaces and ideas for how those challenges will be addressed. 4. Quality Assurance. Proposed approach to ensure that changes implemented meet requirements as specified by Child Trends, that business rules are incorporated in application structures and logic, that code includes error checking, and that related data are consistent and error free. 5. Documentation. Proposed end-user, administrative, and technical documentation to be provided as part of each change implemented. Include one-page samples of each kind of documentation. Outside information, such as past experience working with Child Trends or our partners, may be factored into the evaluations. IV. SUBCONTRACTOR TASKS The following constitute the specific tasks for bid under this RFP. Task 1: Management and Coordination 1.1 The Subcontractor shall meet by conference call with Child Trends staff to discuss the status of the project, maintain a focus on priorities, move project activities forward, and address challenges promptly -- at least, twice each month. 1.2 The Subcontractor shall report monthly -- in writing -- on progress made on tasks and accomplishments, deliverables, and challenges encountered or anticipated, and proposed solutions and shall meet with Child Trends, at its offices in Bethesda, on an asneeded basis, but not less than two times per year. 1.3 The Subcontractor will notify Child Trends -- in writing -- immediately of any difficulties that cannot be favorably resolved by the Subcontractor. 1.4 The subcontractor will provide the hardware and software required to perform the tasks detailed in this RFP at no cost to Child Trends. The Jim Casey Initiative holds the licenses for MS Server 2008 and MS SQL Server The server on which the packages and applications reside are provided by Peer 1 Hosting, along with related services, under agreement with the Jim Casey initiative.

5 Task 2: Data Systems and User Interfaces Trouble Shooting In the event that Child Trend staff encounter difficulties in performing routine data management tasks or identify error conditions, such as in data entry logic or in report output, the subcontractor will be available on short notice to troubleshoot. The Subcontractor should have the capacity to resolve, at least, one error condition per week, even though this capacity may not be utilized. 2.1 The Subcontractor will perform an initial review and assessment of OPDS and OPPS, taking no more than ten (10) hours and report their findings in writing to Child Trends, including recommendations for immediate fixes and longer term adjustments. 2.2 For each problem identified, the Subcontractor will meet with Child Trends staff for minutes to learn about the problem. 2.3 In the event that the problem does not have a quick fix (one hour or less of Subcontractor time), the Subcontractor will provide a budget detailing the hours required to perform each requested change and receive permission to proceed prior to taking any action. 2.4 The Subcontractor will develop and test each fix involving coding or data structure changes prior to taking it live. 2.5 The Subcontractor will document each fix, internally and in a written report, to Child Trends. Task 3: Data Systems and User Interfaces Modifications and Enhancements Occasionally, Jim Casey Initiative and Child Trends staff may identify modifications or enhancements desired for OPDS and/or OPPS. These changes may include adding a new field or fields to the databases, modifying an existing report, defining a new report, and/or adding/removing items from the User Interfaces. The minimum time anticipated for a simple modification is in the area of one day, including assessment, planning, implementation, and documentation. 3.1 The Subcontractor will meet with Child Trends staff to learn about the desired modification/enhancement. 3.2 The Subcontractor will provide a written budget detailing the hours required to perform each requested modification/enhancement and receive permission to proceed from Child Trends, prior to making the change. 3.3 The subcontractor will develop, test, and demonstrate each completed modification/enhancement to Child Trends staff prior to going live. 3.4 The subcontractor will document, internally and in a written report, to Child Trends each modification and enhancement.

6 V. SUBCONTRACT DETAILS The Subcontract will be paid on a cost reimbursement basis and the full period of performance will be one (1) year, with two (2) years of extensions available, subject to Subcontractor performance and Contract funding. The period of performance for Year 1 will begin on January 1, 2016 and will end on December 31, VI. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS For consideration, applicants must submit one (1) complete application, which includes: 1. One (1) letter of interest of not more than five (5) pages 2. One (1) detailed cost schedule, including all tasks detailed in Section III -- Subcontractor Tasks 3. Staff biographies and resumes (not included in the 5 page limit) 4. Three (3) references, which must each include: (a) an explanation of the relationship with the proposed team and (b) contact information ( and telephone) 5. Three samples of work done by the proposed staff. 6. A print-out of a MS SQL Server stored procedure written by one of the proposed staff for an application similar to OPDS, a minimum of two pages in length. 7. Print-outs of manually written C# and VB code for an application similar to OPDS. VII. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Please submit completed proposals to Kate Williams, kmwilliams@childtrends.org, no later than 5:00 PM EST on Thursday, October 15, Finalists may be asked to participate in one or more in-person tele-conference or video-conference interviews. Questions should also be directed to Kate Williams no later than 5:00 PM EST on Wednesday, September 23, Written responses to the questions will be provided via in a reasonable time frame. All organizations and individuals submitting a proposal will be notified of the awarded sub-contractor no later than December 1, Thank you for your interest and consideration. Best Regards, Natalia Pane Senior Vice President for Research and Operations

7 APPENDIX TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENT Component Implementation Host Server Operating System MS Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition SP1 (Kernel: NT 6.1 [7601]) Client and Server Network Connections Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 connection with 128-bit encryption Back End (Databases) MS SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition, Management Studio, Stored Procedures, Functions Front End (End-user WWW Interfaces) MS ASP.NET Framework 4.0, VB. C#, JQuery, MS AJAX Control Toolkit Reporting MS SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services (SRSS), Report Viewer Redistributable 2008 or 2010 (in SQL Server), MS-Access, MS Report Builder