Response to Questions
Contract Negotiation and Management Solution
PCO-CNMS2015 RFP
Posted December 8, 2015
Q1: My number one question is we are a SaaS model. I hope this is an option. Please confirm
A: Yes – PCORI is currently implementing Salesforce and foundationConnect with a SaaS model. Accordingly, SaaS models that are compatible are preferred.
Q2: By way of introduction, [Company name redacted] is a certified Salesforce and Microsoft Partner based in Pune, India. Since we are an offshore company, I was wondering if we are eligible to bid our proposal for this RFP. A: PCORI encourages all Offerors who are able to
implement Contract Negotiation and Management solutions. If needed, PCORI will make
accommodations for phone or teleconferences during the selection process. However, Offerors will be required to provide some on-site presence during planning, implementation, and training. Q3: It appears that you want to engage in a 5 month
contract with a potential 6 months extension. Please advise if I am incorrect. If I am correct it would be very helpful to understand your thought process behind that.
A: PCORI is currently going through a Salesforce implementation. Further, PCORI is preparing for the subsequent implementation of
foundationConnect (a grant/contract management system) that integrates with Salesforce. However, PCORI has not yet selected a system or product
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Institute (PCORI) is an independent
organization created to help people make
informed healthcare decisions.
1828 L St., NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 827-7700
Fax: (202) 355-9558
Email:
[email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @PCORI
About This Document
This document answers all of the questions
received as of November 20, 2015.
Questions received after this date will not be
addressed.
Questions are listed exactly as they were
received. Language that includes personal
or organization identifiers has been
redacted. General terms (underlined) have
been substituted to protect privacy.
streamlined tool to create and manage contract templates while providing a secure platform to negotiate contract terms and conditions. At the moment, the entire contract negotiation process is manual.
With this solicitation, PCORI seeks a permanent Contract Negotiation and Management solution (CNMS). However, an ideal system will provide an independent solution in the near-term, but then readily integrate with Salesforce later in 2016. Since the contract award portfolio is peaking in 2016, PCORI’s CMA staff needs something to address the current manual process that is
cumbersome, time consuming, and subject to human error. Therefore, PCORI needs some type of a platform / tool ASAP. Additional customizations may be required as identified during the Salesforce and foundationConnect implementation process.
Once the Salesforce and foundationConnect implementations are complete (September 2016), PCORI wants the CNMS to integrate permanently with the Salesforce / foundationConnect systems (and migrate all data generated during the interim, plus all legacy agreements). At that point, PCORI may opt to “turn off” certain post-award functions that were activated on an interim basis until the foundationConnect grants/contract management system is fully functional.
Q4: May I ask if there is a format for Volume II: Cost Proposal?
A: Please see page 16 of the RFP for information involving the content of Volume II: Cost Proposal. Q5: In an effort to open up competition to software integrators and other technology organizations
who are not COTS Software resellers, will PCORI allow bidders to bifurcate the transaction provided (i) the team proposes jointly; i.e., separating the software purchase order from the services purchase order such that PCORI purchases the software directly from the reseller and the services directly from the integrator, and (ii) all of the pricing/terms and conditions are disclosed and can be evaluated as part of the proposal?
A: Yes – PCORI will welcome all potential solutions. PCORI recognizes that partnerships and joint ventures that bring specialized organizations together in a way that maximizes effectiveness could expedite the implementation of solutions. As stated above, it is important that Offerors clearly delineate all of the pricing / terms and conditions.
Q6: Could you provide an example of the post-award short-term enhancements that would be required?
A: PCORI expects to have complete functionality (pre-award through post-award) with the
foundationConnect grants / contracts management system. However, the system is not expected to be fully functional until late 2016. If the Contract Negotiation and Management system can provide interim functionality up until that point, it could prove to be beneficial. Post-award functionality could include budget monitoring, invoice/expenditure tracking, monitoring award deliverables and milestones, and those functions that would occur after a contract has been successfully negotiated and executed. The possible interim post-award functions should be
separated out in the cost proposal, as well, since PCORI may or may not choose to implement them.
Q7: Approximately how many users are anticipated on the CNS?
A: Currently, PCORI has approximately 30 staff in the Contracts Management and Administration (CMA) and Procurement departments. Given additional legal counsel and finance staffs who may need system access, total users would not exceed 50 internal PCORI staff and 1200 external users (given the maximum award portfolio through 2019).
Q8: Approximately how many contracts are to be migrated to the CNS?
A: PCORI will have almost 600 research contracts under CMA management at the time of this integration. Depending on the solution offered, PCORI may opt to migrate an additional 100 Procurement contracts into the new system.
Q9: We identified a sample contract on your website below. Would this be representative of one of your standard contracts that would be used in the CNS?
a. http://www.pcori.org/sites/default/files/PCORI-PFA-Standard-Contract-for-Funded-Research-Projects.pdf
A: Definitely. PCORI has always openly posted its standard research contract template. Over time, PCORI has adjusted the contract template to align with the unique aspects of certain funding cycles. At the moment, there are fewer than 10 variations of the above-referenced contract template, plus another three variations of a Procurement contract template.
It is expected that PCORI will provide more contract templates and workflow details to Offerors who are invited to in-person (or remote tele/video conferencing) demonstrations in order to best illustrate system functionality and compatibility.
Q10: Page iii. “This solution must be fully compatible and able to integrate with the newly
implemented Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, Salesforce.” Can PCORI provide an overview of the Salesforce solution so that bidders may better address the compatibility and ability to integrate with this tool? What are the functionality and the key modules that you are putting into place?
A: PCORI is currently using Salesforce as an enterprise-wide CRM across all departments and
stakeholders. In late 2016, we will be using a combination of foundationConnect and Salesforce to provide a fully-functioning system to support our Research Awards and Engagement Awards. Additionally, we have a data warehouse that we use for the extensive analytics and reporting that is done by our organization. Therefore, the system will have to be able to seamlessly integrate with both foundationConnect/Salesforce and data warehouse.
Q11: Page iii. “CMA is interested in a solution that offers Post-Award functionality that could be turned off once the Salesforce CRM is fully available (late 2016).” Page 1. “While CMA is not seeking comprehensive Post-Award functionality with this solicitation, it does need a solution that provides short-term enhancements that can eventually migrate into a contracts
management solution and Salesforce.” Some vendors may have concerns regarding the duration of the contract period related to relative profitability and intellectual property protection. Can PCORI clarify whether their use of the intended solution might extend beyond the 11-month period of use depending on its value to the Office of Contracts Management and Administration (CMA) and seamless integration into the CRM Salesforce platform?
A: Please refer to Question #3 for additional discussion on this subject.
PCORI is seeking a Contract Negotiation and Management solution that will be permanent. It is expected that this solution will be installed and operational within five months of award (independent of foundationConnect / Salesforce). Another six-month engagement may be exercised for customizations or other affiliated activities that integrate with foundationConnect / Salesforce (September 2016 release). Proposals should include any licenses and fees associated with ongoing use.
PCORI expects the winning Offeror to collaborate and work with the current Salesforce /
foundationConnect integrator in order to “plug in” the negotiation and management functionality provided by the CNMS.
Q12: Page iii Purpose. Will PCORI share additional information with bidders (e.g. user personas, templates, workflows, processes, SOPs, etc.) in order provide a good estimate of work scope and reduce the period of discovery?
A: PCORI will provide additional details, contract templates (in addition to the one provided on the PCORI website), workflows, and SOPs to Offerors who are selected for product demonstrations. Q13: Page iii Purpose. Given the fact that there is a short period of performance, is PCORI looking for
a full suite of environments (development, test, production) or only a single, production-pilot– type environment?
A: PCORI expects the chosen implementer to provide functionality within the 5-month period of performance. Next, it is critical that the solution “plugs-in” to foundationConnect / Salesforce once it is ready (estimated to be September 2016). PCORI will consider all proposals – and associated environment offerings – that provide the solution, on-time. It is not expected that single environment offerings would be disadvantaged in any way.
Q14: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. If a bidder proposes a Salesforce CNMS solution, would we need to quote licenses for Salesforce?
Q15: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. How many instances of Salesforce.com do you manage?
A: We currently only have one instance of Salesforce with two instances of foundationConnect that will run on top of it.
Q16: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. Please advise the number of users for cost estimation purposes. Are the users all located in the same physical location? If not, can you please identify user locations?
A: Yes – all users will be at the PCORI headquarters in Washington, DC. It is not expected that PCORI will have more than 50 internal PCORI users and 1200 external users (600 awardee organizations). Q17: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. In an effort to open up competition to software integrators and
other technology organizations who are not COTS Software resellers, will PCORI allow bidders to bifurcate the transaction provided (i) the team proposes jointly; i.e., separating the software purchase order from the services purchase order such that PCORI purchases the software directly from the reseller and the services directly from the integrator, and (ii) all of the pricing/terms and conditions are disclosed and can be evaluated as part of the proposal? A: Yes. Please see the earlier responses to this question.
Q18: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. Are there provisions in your existing contracts that need to be tracked after the contract signature (e.g., contingent options)?
A: Yes – PCORI contracts almost always have milestones and deliverables associated with the Scope of Work proposed in the research plan. An ideal system would enable the seamless transition of the terms and conditions negotiated in the contract to the eventual Salesforce/
foundationConnect system. Regardless, PCORI needs to track these elements now (manually), for an interim period (before foundationConnect is ready), and then in the foundationConnect system once it is ready in late 2016.
Q19: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. Are your approval processes sequential or do you have use cases to kick off parallel approvals for the same agreement?
A: All approvals are sequential.
Q20: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. Do you have an existing system of record that houses legal entity information that will be pulled into CLM?
A: No – PCORI executes contracts as Word documents via Outlook email. The eventual contracts are converted into PDFs and stored in SharePoint. Some entity information has been copied into Excel spreadsheets (and trackers), but it is not comprehensive.
Q21: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. Do you need authentication/login for any entity other than PCORI during the contract negotiation phase?
Q22: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. Do you plan to migrate the signed agreement documents from your current systems along with the agreement records? If so, what is the storage requirement for these documents?
A: Yes – PCORI wants to migrate the existing contracts (approximately 600) into the new system. However, since the existing documents are in PDF form, PCORI recognizes that the migration and integration of legacy agreements into the new system will be a significant portion (and cost) of all potential solutions.
Q23: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. Do you require “click to accept” capabilities in any of your agreement types?
A: Yes. The standard PCORI contract has a solid set of terms and conditions. In typical
(non-specialized) funding opportunities PCORI seeks awardees to accept the terms and conditions (as-is) specified in the research contract that is openly posted on our website.
Q24: Page 4-8 CNMS Requirements. How many sources are you looking to migrate contracts from? How many contracts are in each source? What is the total number of contracts that will need to be migrated?
A: Approximately 600 research contracts will be migrated into the new system. The contracts are in PDF format. Some of the contract data points have already been extracted into Excel format (e.g., Principal Investigator name, Organization name, award amount, etc.). However, many data points have not been extracted and an ideal system would enable PCORI to pull more functionality from its existing agreements.
Q25: Page 8. “Optional Project Requirements. Provide a complete description of your maintenance plan, including cost and scope of services for onsite, hosted, and cloud options.” Where should cost be detailed for the Optional Support?
A: In the Cost Proposal, please break out the costs of the standard installation. The maintenance plan and all options should be broken out separately.
Q26: Page 9 Project Team. How many training classes does PCORI envision will be required to cover the user base?
A: A minimum of three trainings will be conducted for PCORI administrators, internal and external users. A manual should be produced to cover training for all users: administrators, internal, and external. PCORI is seeking not only a solution, but the hands-on support that will quickly train PCORI staff to become fully functional. Please clearly delineate these costs in your cost proposal. Q27: Page 9. “The Contractor shall submit résumés for all personnel on the Project Team and all
designated key personnel, as defined by PCORI.” Can PCORI clarify whether resumes should be provided only for Key Personnel, or for Key Personnel and all project team members? Which personnel does PCORI define as key?
A: PCORI seeks résumés / defined credentials for all key personnel, as well as other members of the Project Team, who have significant roles (and billable hours) on the project.
Q28: Page 11. “The Contractor agrees to disclose any conflicts of interest on the part of Contractor that has the potential to bias or has the appearance of biasing its obligations under this RFP.” Given that potential exposure to PCORI contract data could present a future conflict of interest, would an organizational firewall be sufficient to mitigate this risk?
A: Possibly. The CNMS will provide access to existing contracts and awards. Therefore, organizations that wish to maintain eligibility to future research funding opportunities would need to propose, and implement, adequate firewalls and controls to ensure that confidentiality is maintained. Q29: Page 12. Is Statement of Understanding section evaluated as part of the Technical Solution
Evaluation Criteria? If not, please advise how this is evaluated.
Category Weight of Rating Factor
Technical Solution 50%
Management Approach 15%
Past Performance 15%
Cost 20%
A: It is part of the Technical Solution. Offerors should clearly explain how they understand the past and current issues PCORI has experienced with no CNMS or GMS in place. As PCORI moves to the Salesforce / foundationConnect platform, Offerors should show how their solution addresses previously manual and disjointed processes.
Q30: Page 12. Is the Corporate Qualifications section evaluated as part of the Technical Solution? If not, please advise how this is evaluated.
Category Weight of Rating Factor
Technical Solution 50%
Management Approach 15%
Past Performance 15%
Cost 20%
A: It is part of the Management Approach. The Management Approach includes the qualifications of the Project Team, as well as the strategy / project plan employed to ensure success.
Q31: Page 13 “All text should be Arial or Times New Roman font, no less than 11 point with one-inch margins and single spaced. Graphics and tables may be included.” May text in tables and graphics be in fonts other than Arial or Times New Roman? May text in tables and graphics be smaller than 11 point?
A: Yes – tables and graphs may have smaller / different fonts. All narratives should confirm to the specified instructions.
Q32: Page 13 “Each submission must include a cover letter…” Is there a specific point of contact to whom we should address our cover letter?
A: No. The cover letter can be addressed to PCORI or to the Procurement Department that manages this solicitation.
Q33: Page 14 “Provide résumés for all proposed team members. Include proposed job title and a brief description of qualifications, including education and experience. Résumés should be no longer than two pages.” As compared to p.32 Appendix A: Résumés of Key Personnel (see pages 9 and 14). Are resumes to be provided only for Key Personnel or all team members?
A: Résumés should be provided for all Key Personnel, plus any team members who will have a significant and billable role on the project. If the individual is providing unique or specialize support, then PCORI needs their résumé / qualifications. If the services provided are generic and multiple people could provide the same service to the project, then only a brief description of the position would be needed.
Q34: Page 31 Appendix C: Past Performance Chart [last row] “List of major subcontracts”. Do you mean list of major “subcontractors”?
A: When referencing Past Performance, Offerors should provide details of past projects that are similar in nature, size and scope. Relevant projects from any team members may be included, as well.
Separately, all subcontractors should be delineated in the Scope of Work and budget. Q35: Page 32 Submission Checklist: Appendix A: Résumés of Key Personnel. Are resumes to be
provided for Key Personnel or all team members?
A: Key personnel, plus all team members who play a significant and specialized role on the project (as opposed to generic functions that are not dependent on the skills / experiences of a specific individual).
Q36: Page 16 Submission Deadline. Considering that answers to questions affect the proposal strategy and are on the critical path to meeting PCORI’s deadline, coupled with the close proximity to the National Thanksgiving holiday period, will PCORI consider granting an extension to December 15 at 5pm?
A: See Amendment 1 with the revised deadline of December 11, 2015.
Q37: How many users for this system? The pricing for some solutions (licensing) may be dependent on the number of users.
A: At the moment, PCORI does not foresee more than 50 internal users and 1200 external users. PCORI will cover the costs of all licensing and user fees. It is expected that possible solutions will provide free access for awardees who will be negotiating contracts with PCORI (up to 150 awardees, per year). However, the CNMS may include functionality that would enable awardees to purchase their own version of the system (independent of PCORI).
Q38: How many legacy contracts need to be migrated to the new system?
A: Approximately 600 research contracts, with the option of migrating an additional 100 Procurement contracts.
Q39: What are the estimated users (internal and external) and standard hours of operation for the proposed system?
A: Approximately 50 internal users and 1200 external users, working from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Q40: Are there any previous COTS CNMS products that PCORI has evaluated and found insufficient or to have a poor fit for the business?
A: No. This is a new solicitation. No contract management system has ever been implemented at PCORI.
Q41: Page 8 Optional Project Requirements #2. What are the training expectations post go-live? What types (User, Functional, etc.…), # of attendees, frequency? tools (VTC, Live Classes, etc.…) does PCORI require?
A: Up to 50 internal staff will require user training. All training formats will be considered. However, it is expected that live, on-site options would be preferred (based on other system
implementations (unrelated) that have occurred in the past).
Q42: Page 1 Background. What is Pre/Post Award Functionality and what sub tasks are carried out under this task?
A: PCORI views the award process in three stages: pre-award, award negotiation, and post-award. Pre-award is not related to this opportunity. It includes the creation of funding announcements, application processing and scoring, and the transition of application data into contract
negotiations.
Contract negotiations are to be addressed with this opportunity. This includes the use of submitted application data and a specified PCORI contract template to negotiate an award. A secure system that enables PCORI to design and modify contract templates; create and maintain clause libraries; negotiate / accept / reject certain T’s and C’s; and securely execute an award (electronically) are preferred. The resultant data should be compatible with Salesforce / foundationConnect.
Q43: What are the different contract types at PCORI?
A: In general, PCORI has a research contract (used by CMA) and a Services Agreement (used by Procurement). The standard research contract template is openly posted on the PCORI website. It is expected that PCORI will create several variations (or templates) of these agreements going forward.
In general, PCORI issues cost-reimbursable contracts. However, some specialized options may be used for special funding opportunities (hybrid, fixed price, etc.).
Q44: Page 1 Background #4. Which Cloud system is used to store the final contract templates? A: Currently, SharePoint is used to store contract templates. In the near future, contract templates
will be stored in foundationConnect.
Q45: How many integration and data points are necessary for this CNMS implementation? If possible, confirm entity data, directions of exchange, and external systems.
A: We expect to discuss these details with finalists who will be invited to demonstrate their product. Q46: Page 5 CNMS Requirements 1.b.i.2. What is PCORI’s expectations on Contract approvals? A: Once a PCORI Contracts Administrator negotiates a contract with an Awardee (and the awardee
organization accepts), there is a sequential chain of approvals within PCORI.
Q47: Page 4 CNMS Requirements 1.a. What formats/sizes of files would be stored for agreements? A: PCORI is seeking a solution that enables all key data points in the contract to be extracted or
transported into the foundationConnect post-award portal (Organization name / address / contact, PI name / address / contact, award amount, budget detail, milestones (with dates), deliverables (with dates), etc.).
