QUESTIONS AND OFFICIAL ANSWERS
RFP 6100038971
# / Questions Received / Answers/ Whether companies from Outside USA can apply for this?
(like, from India or Canada) / Please refer to Part II, Section II-4.D of RFP #6100038971 and the Department of General Services’ Guide entitled, Registering as a Supplier, located at http://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Supplier%20Service%20Center/RegistrationGuide.pdf.
/ Whether we need to come over there for meetings? / As stated in Part III, Section III-9.C of RFP #6100038971, status meetings will be “held in Harrisburg or be conducted via conference calls,” at the Pennsylvania State Police’s discretion.
/ Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA?
(like, from India or Canada) / Please refer to Part II, Section II-4.D of RFP #6100038971 and Appendix K, Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification, and complete the latter accordingly.
/ Can we submit the proposals via email? / Email submissions are not permitted. Pursuant to Part I, Section I-12.A of RFP #6100038971, Offerors are to submit “ten (10) paper copies [one marked “ORIGINAL”] of the Technical Submittal and one (1) paper copy of the Cost Submittal and two (2) paper copies of the Small Diverse Business and Small Business (SDB/SB) Participation Submittal (Appendix H) and related Letter(s) of Intent.”
/ Appendix O, Page 12, RP028
Please explain the following requirement: "The proposed solution must allow Department System Administrators to query administrative jurisdiction information so that work flow processes can be improved."
What type of information would the system administrators query, with what purpose? / The proposed solution should collect administrative information to compile into a profile for each submitting police department.
This requirement refers to the need of the UCR unit to quickly organize submitters and group them for various workflow processes. A few examples would be if the UCR unit needed to contact all Pennsylvania State Police submitters, all Pennsylvania State University submitters, or all Department of Conservation and Natural Resources submitters.
The UCR Unit would like to see some sort of ad-hoc query capabilities with this requirement, as it necessary to pull only one county or another, or to specifically address issues with certain regions of the state (such as for training announcements). Ultimately, it will allow the UCR unit to vastly expedite their regular daily workflow and project workflow.
/ RFP Page 4, Section I-12
The RFP indicates that up to 2 different proposals may be provided, one for Commonwealth-hosted and another for Vendor-hosted. If the technical solution is very similar in both cases, would it be acceptable to submit a single Technical Proposal that provides details on how the two solutions differ, along with two cost proposals (one based on Appendix I and the other on Appendix J? / No; as stated in the note at the beginning of Part I, Section I-12, “if submitting proposals for both solutions, a complete proposal for each must be submitted separately in accordance with this Part I, Section I-12.”
/ We would like to know if this is a new initiative from the State?
If not, who is currently providing the services? Can we also request for a copy of the contract of the current vendor? / This is not a new initiative. The existing system is maintained by the Commonwealth.
/ How much is the estimated budget for this project? / The Commonwealth prefers not to disclose this information.
/ RFP Page 2, Section I-4
Would the team accept a low code/ no code solution customized to meet the needs of the Pennsylvania State Police requirements? Our business process management approach is not COTS or MOTS but would lead to a close fit and evergreen solution. / No; pursuant to Part I, Section I-4 of RFP #6100038971, the Pennsylvania State Police “intends to procure, through this RFP, either a Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) or Modified Off-the-Shelf (MOTS) Uniform Crime Reporting System solution that meets the requirements set forth in this RFP.”
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 2, AD023
What is the format of flat file? How many incidents can be allowed in each flat file? / The flat file is a Pennsylvania State Police custom made file. This will still be needed since some of the agencies will not be changing their processes. The format is provided in Appendix X.
As to the number of incidents allowed in each flat file, there should be one incident per file for NIBRS, and one monthly submission for Summary per file. Please refer to Revised Appendix O for the PSP Notes cell for AD023 in posted addendum.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 2, AD026
What is the "codes" referred to here ? / “Codes” refer to all valid data values that can be input into a submission.
Examples include, but are not limited to: Weapon Types; Bias Motivations; and Population Codes. Frequent program and data collection changes prompt this requirement.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 4, CU002
Will the new system still have UCR along with NIBRS? / Yes. Both the Summary and the NIBRS reporting systems will run parallel for an indefinite timeframe.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 6, DT001
What does NIBRS batch file mean?
Is it in flat file or XMLformat? / A batch file is a file is a file with multiple commands. The NIBRS batch file would allow a regional police department to submit data for the entire department, regardless of county, or jurisdiction, at once. Currently, the data has to be separated. For example, if a regional police department covers three counties, it should be able to submit data for all three counties at once. The system should organize the incidents based on the submitting organization and the location code. So, if a citizen wants to see the statistics for a township, the citizen can pull the information up by the jurisdiction, county, or reporting agency.
The file format could be either flat file (as it is today) or in XML.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 7, FB002
In a few states such as MN and NY, the LEAs send personnel data to State Crime Bureau. Is there any such data collection in the current system ? If not, the proposed system can collect that data thru web based UI screen. / Yes, there is. The existing system captures this data through a UI screen. The proposed solution should be able to continue to collect this information, as outlined in Appendix O, PAUCRS Requirements, FB002, PA002, and PA003.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 9, NO004
Can you please confirm if it is a minimum 3 email addresses? / Yes, as indicated in this requirement, a minimum of three (3) email contacts per agency is required, with no maximum.
This requirement is related to NO003, where the submitting user can select one of the already-entered email addresses to receive a summary/confirmation file for their records.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 9, PA003
What is the requirements around PA NIBRS for Runaways?
Is this a separate form or a Group B Arrest report with UCR Offense code of 90I? / While the FBI has made this data as optional, the Pennsylvania State Police wants to continue to capture Runaways. The purpose of keeping this data is the relation to Human Trafficking. At this time, this information is collected on the Group B Arrest report. There is the potential for modification as PA NIBRS rules evolve.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 10, PA004
Should the solution be able to accept XML file for SRS or NIBRS? What is the XML format? / The solution must be able to accept XML format for both SRS and NIBRS.
The Offeror may specify the XML format.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 10, RP010
Does this mean automating the PA Crime Book i.e. system must generate the entire crime book for a given year? / The system is to generate an annual report and Executive Summary by pulling together statistics, charts and graphs, while allowing Pennsylvania State Police staff to enter wording. The new annual report will be considerably condensed from its current format. Also, the annual report must allow the Pennsylvania State Police to change the types of statistical information displayed depending on the program changes (remove property crimes and insert hate crimes).
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 10, RP011
When an Annual Report is generated based off Summary and NIBRS data, does vendor have to do Conversion of NIBRS Data to Summary Data? / Yes, please refer to Appendix O, Requirement RP025 for details.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 11, RP025
This requirement clarifies that NIBRS data must be crunched to SRS. To compare what are the factors that must be considered? / Conversion specifications are included within the requirement. Please refer to Appendix DD, Conversion of National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Data to Summary Reporting (SRS) Data, which has been posted as part of Addendum Number 4.
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements, Page 12, VA001
The link (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr.) provides NIBRS, SRS, and LEOKA specs. Does vendor need to implement all these rules or only NIBRS? / All rules must be implemented, not just SRS, NIBRS, and LEOKA. All specifications must be met (such as for Hate Crimes, Cargo Theft, etc.).
/ APPENDIX O PAUCRS Requirements
In general is the RFP expecting to rewrite the existing UCR, SRS and NIBRS system plus enhance the NIBRS system to accept XML submissions and also develop the NIBRS file to FBI as XML as per the new NCS-X standard? / The Pennsylvania State Police is requesting a new system that will replace the existing system. The new system should comply with the FBI's and the Commonwealth’s technical specifications and submission formats.
/ APPENDIX X FTP File Upload Specifications, Page 9, PA001
Can agency provide Flat File Specification with detailed explanation for each transmitted file like TU, CM, IBR file, etc? / Appendix X contains the flat file specifications. Additional information will be shared with the successful Offeror.
/ RFP Page 13, Section I-23
What is the project implementation (go-live) date or duration? / The grant expires on 12/31/2018. The system must be implemented and accepted at least by September 2018 to allow sufficient time to close the grant.
/ Does agency have any other applications hosted in the cloud or in vendor's data center? / This information is not relevant to this procurement.
/ We are assuming cloud hosted solution is acceptable to PSP. Please confirm. / Yes.
/ RFP Page 1, Section I-3
Overview of Project. Can the Issuing Office explain the shortcomings of the existing solution and articulate the primary areas that need to be enhanced to satisfy current requirements as set forth in Appendix O, PAUCRS Requirements? / The current system is outdated and on an older technology platform. The system does not provide enough capacity to add on additional NIBRS submitters or provide the enhanced functionality stated in the requirements.
/ RFP Page 13, Section II-3
Evaluation. Will the Issuing Office identify the bureaus that the members of the evaluation panel represent? / The evaluation committee will consist of members from the Pennsylvania State Police
/ RFP Pages 41-42, Section III-10
Objections and Additions to IT Contract Terms and Conditions. Is the Issuing Office willing to review and discuss these terms and conditions? In our experience providing solutions to customers similar to PSP we take very reasonable positions in negotiating legal terms and conditions. We plan to include as part of our response our standard contracts that will form the basis of any licensing of software or the provision of services. We will incorporate any mutually agreed upon revisions in a final written contract. / Offerors may not propose the wholesale replacement of the Commonwealth’s terms and conditions with those of the Offeror’s. To do so would result in the rejection of the Offerors proposal as set forth in the RFP at Part III, Section III-10, Objections and Additions to Standard Contract Terms and Conditions.
A suggested method of incorporating additional terms and conditions is to amend the terms and make sure that any changes are redlined. Finally, note that the “Issuing Office Issuing Office may, in its sole discretion, accept or reject any requested changes,” and that “[r]egardless of any objections set out in its proposal, the Offeror must submit its proposal, including the cost proposal, on the basis of the terms and conditions set out in Part VI and Appendix N, Non-Commonwealth Hosted Application Services Requirements.”
/ RFP Pages 41-42, Section III-10
Objections and Additions to IT Contract Terms and Conditions. Our solution includes software components that will need to be licensed pursuant to our terms and conditions that solely govern the licensing of our software. These terms are separate from the offered professional services. How should we provide that information in our response? / Please refer to the answer to Question Number 29.
/ Would the Commonwealth provide a copy of the existing PAUCRS system and documentation to the successful offeror for the purposes of establishing the basis for a new MOTS solution? / The Pennsylvania State Police will provide additional information on the existing PAUCRS system to the successful Offeror.
/ Would the Commonwealth accept a solution that involved re-writing the existing PAUCRS application and enhancing the existing National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) modules to bring the system into compliance with the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statics (BJS), Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program and the National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X)? And, also into compliance with Commonwealth’s PA Compute Services (PACS) hosting requirements? / Please refer to the answer to Question Number 9.
/ We are very interested in the solution and offer a platform that can be customized to meet the needs referenced in the RFP, however our solution is not COTS or MOTS, rather a customized low code/no code Business Process Management configuration approach. / Please refer to the answer to Question Number 9.
/ With reference to the pre-proposal conference scheduled on January 10th, I am checking to see if conference can be attended remotely via tele-conference or WebEx. / The Pre-Proposal Conferences are not conducted remotely via tele-conference or WebEx. Please refer to Addendum Number 2 to RFP #6100038971, located on the eMarketplace Website for the materials relating to the Pre-proposal conference:
/ Appendix O, AD008
Does this refer to notes in the agency profile. Where is this notes section expected? / Yes, this requirement refers to a way to make and store notes in the agency profile entered by Department System Administrators.
/ Appendix O, AD009
Does this refer to attachments in the agency profile. Where is this notes section expected? / Yes, this requirement refers to a way to upload and store attachments in the agency profile for Department System Administrators.
/ Appendix O, AD016
Please confirm if this means that a multi-user general agency login is required in addition to individual user logins. / No; if each user has their own login, then a general agency one would not be needed.
/ Appendix O, RP014
Does this require users to customize their own dashboard with their selected reports? / The dashboard needs to allow users to display the annual report and be able to create an ad hoc report.
/ Appendix O, RP021
Since NIBRS and UCR data does not capture address information, does PAUCRS expect to have their own address fields. What is the lowest level at which PA expects to map data? / The proposed solution would incorporate longitude/latitude with each incident. This information is already collected at the end-user level via an RMS.
/ Appendix O, RP028
The requirement and PSP’s explanation do not seem to match. Please elaborate the requirement from a “querying” perspective as stated in the requirement. / Refer to the answer to Question Number 5.
/ Appendix O, RP031
Does Part 1 and Part 2 in the requirements sheet refer to Group A and Group B. We understand that Part 1 and Part 2 are SRS terminology. Does this requirement only apply to SRS or both SRS and NIBRS? / This requirement only applies to SRS.
/ Appendix O, VA007
Does this imply that data entry itself does not require login. How is incomplete data expected to be retained in such a case. / The requirement outlines the need for a submitting agency to physically sign on to their account to communicate to PAUCRS that they are finished with a month's submissions.
Currently, this is accomplished in the SRS system by the submitting user clicking the "Submit" button. In the NIBRS system, this is done by way of the "Process Monthly Submission" button, and all users, both one-way and two-way, are required to do this.
This is the only way that the UCR unit is capable of determining whether or not a month’s submission is complete or not, and for the purposes of compliance checks, the verification from the submitting user would still need to be accomplished in some fashion or another.
/ Appendix O, AD012
Please provide an example of the desired population codes. / The codes are provided by the FBI.
/ Appendix O, AD023
Does the State of Pennsylvania plan to make corrections to NIBRS data submitted from local RMS systems? Or is this requirement specific to data submitted via the online portal for NIBRS and the SRS direct submissions? / Yes, the Pennsylvania State Police currently has the ability to logon on as an administrator and view/edit the submission. This is especially helpful for Error Correction and for training over the phone.