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Procurement Discussion for State of Maine DHHS

Procurement Discussion for State of Maine DHHS. Joshua Broder, CEO, Tilson. Agenda. My prospective and our experience in this area Where to focus procurement rigor The team A productive process Sources sought Request For Information Request For Qualifications Request For Proposals

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Procurement Discussion for State of Maine DHHS

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  1. Procurement Discussion for State of Maine DHHS Joshua Broder, CEO, Tilson

  2. Agenda • My prospective and our experience in this area • Where to focus procurement rigor • The team • A productive process • Sources sought • Request For Information • Request For Qualifications • Request For Proposals • Some ideas to make this easier

  3. My prospective • As a junior Army officer, worked to get the job done despite the procurement process • As a mid-grade Army officer, responsible for procurements through the federal system • As the CEO of a technology consulting and implementation vendor, responding to solicitations across many federal, state, and local government agencies • As a consultant, helping state agencies with complex technology procurements

  4. Representative state projects • For Commonwealth of Massachusetts, managed bids for $54MM network deployment contract and 10 year network operations contract, project management of $91MM project overall • Consultant on Maine DOL Workforce & Employment Services Information System procurement, recommended contract termination • Current projects for Maine DHHS, DOL, and OIT, on staff augmentation contract • For ConnectME Authority, recently won FirstNet consulting bid • IDIQ with State of Vermont • HQ in Portland, many in Augusta • Work nation-wide • 100 employees • Work for industry and government • IT and business system consulting and implementation • Get it done and get out guys • Veteran owned business

  5. Where to focus procurement rigor • Specialty needs vs. commodity • Complexity matters • Size matters • Familiarity matters • Everyone is too busy to find more time on procurement so spend less time on less important procurements to make more time for more important procurements

  6. A productive process

  7. Why all of the steps • Understand the market before buying • Provide maximum transparency and understanding to vendors • Encourage successful teaming amongst vendors

  8. The team • Executive sponsor • Business unit owner as project manager • Technical experts- state (DHHS and OIT) and consultants • Legal experts- state and consultants • Procurement experts- state and consultants • The outsider- could be state or consultant, someone who has ‘been there, done that’

  9. Sources Sought • Market research on vendor capabilities and interest • Telegraph potential for procurement to industry to get them thinking about the requirement • Instigates teaming

  10. Request For Information • When you need more information about • Vendor’s capabilities • Existing products • Suggestions on approaches • Structured • Consider framework for confidentiality • Telegraph potential for procurement to industry to get them thinking about the requirement • Instigates teaming

  11. Request for Qualifications • Winnow the field to focus on a narrower group in the RFP phase • Focus on capabilities and characteristics, rather than price or approach • Structured • Consider framework for confidentiality • Telegraph potential for procurement to industry to get them thinking about the requirement • Instigates teaming

  12. Request for Proposals • Required for purchases over 10k in Maine • Be clear about what risk the department is keeping and what is being passed to the vendor • Be transparent about evaluation criteria • Explain the situation • Explain what success looks like • Encourage teaming • Complexity costs

  13. Contracting • Don’t lose leverage during negotiation, ok to start negotiation before final award, watch how vendor behaves during this very telling period • Put it on the clock- for all parties and reengage with executive sponsor to keep momentum up within the State • Keep runner up available in case you can’t get there with first choice • Take this as an opportunity to check for understanding, make assumptions explicit • Performance standards and penalties

  14. Can we make this easier? • Bid conferences • Teaming match makers • Know procurement rules • Communicate requirements in business terms and resist technology dogma • Indefinite quantity, Indefinite delivery- IDIQ • Consultants under contract before you need them • Small, easily procured pilot project to: • Learn lessons • Develop a more tightly scoped project • Try out a vendor before going deeper, and help a vendor better understand the department and project • General Services Administration (GSA) State and Local Purchase Program

  15. Parting thoughts • Bigger vendor not always better vendor • What worked in California not necessarily right sized for Maine • Many small touches in a procurement beats a big bang! • Start early, when coming up against a deadline, state has little leverage and beltway bandits are expensive and not always effective Joshua Broder jbroder@tilsontech.com 207-653-0573

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