Consultant Sought to Oversee RFPs for Modernization

The state Employment Development Department (EDD) is seeking a consultant to plan and manage the RFP process for a wide-ranging modernization of its benefits system.

The modernization project will encompass Unemployment Insurance, Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave “to implement a single, integrated benefit system that provides customers and staff a consistent, single portal into the EDD’s services while being more agile and responsive for deployment of enhancements and lowering overall maintenance costs."

Through a Request for Offer, EDD is seeking to “acquire assistance from a qualified IT consulting firm for the purpose of performing Request for Proposal (RFP) development services. … To be considered for this RFO, the Respondent must hold a current IT Consulting Services Master Service Agreement (MSA) Contract, issued by the Department of General Services (DGS). The IT MSA Services resource classification(s) used for this effort is a Senior Project Manager.”

The contract specifies a 28-month term, with a cap of $887,040. EDD can extend the contract for up to two years after that, with a total contract limit of $1.5 million. The submission deadline is Jan. 25, and the contract start date could be as early as Feb. 22.   

“The RFP preparation cost is not necessarily an indicator of the total project cost,” said Aubrey Henry, EDD’s chief of media services. “The consulting contract is structured to give the EDD flexibility in using the consulting resources as needed throughout the procurement process.”

As for the modernization itself, “We do not have an estimate for total cost nor total duration of the project at this time,” Henry told Techwire in an email. “That will be developed during Stage 3: Solution Development activities.”

The project is currently in Stage 2: Preliminary Assessment.