In a Request for Offer (RFO) released Nov. 9, the California State Controller’s Office (SCO) seeks a “(Master Services Agreement) MSA IT Consulting Services Contractor to provide Project Management (PM) Services” that will assist the California Automated Travel Expense Reimbursement (CalATERS) Replacement Project (CRP). The contract is for “project management skill sets to augment SCO staff assigned to the CRP,” according to the RFO, and the successful candidate must have a current California Department of General Services (DGS) MSA IT Consulting Services contract. Among the takeaways:
- CalATERS is operated by the SCO Personnel and Payroll Services Division (PPSD), for “state departmental accounting offices and employees,” per the RFO. The system was designed in 2000 “to provide an efficient electronic solution to replace the mainly manual, labor and time intensive expense claim reimbursement process for travel on State business,” and to reduce processing costs. In 2014, IBM announced that its Global Expense Reporting System would sunset, sparking the need to find a replacement for CalATERS. The current system will no longer be supported beyond June 2023. Currently the CRP is in Stage 3 of the California Department of Technology’s Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL), and the CalATERS project team is in the final stages of developing the solicitation and finalizing all project plans necessary for CDT to approval PAL Stage 3 and release the solicitation.
- The consulting services required include offering input and updating required project management plans, documenting the processes and procedures through which the CRP will be managed; offering “expertise and best practices in maintaining SCO CRP SharePoint site to manage project documentation”; offering guidance and work products for project management activities that support day-to-day activities of the CRP team; and providing input and work products, with the state project manager, to meet CDT PAL process requirements. The contractor must also coordinate regular knowledge transfer to the CRP team.
- The firm’s minimum qualifications include at least three years’ experience in the last decade in offering PMO and PMO Support to an IT project of similar size and complexity and with a value of $7 million to $10 million or with at least 10,000 users. The experience must all be in project management phases. Firm must have three to six references regarding similar work. Project manager must have at least three years’ experience in the last seven years, with at least three years of that experience in a lead role on larger or more complex IT project(s). Project experience may include software, platform and implementation work on a project valued at at least $7 million to $10 million.
- The contract term will be two years with the option of a one-year extension “to complete the required tasks and to add funds, as deemed necessary, by SCO.” The contract amount is not to exceed $300,000 and must meet all RFO requirements “including the $1.5 million threshold,” SCO said, adding that the contractor, SCO CRP project director, project manager and contract manager are responsible for ensuring that happens. Responses to the RFO are due by 2 p.m. Dec. 2 and will be reviewed Dec. 3-10. If needed, interviews will be done Dec. 11-15. The proposed award date is in January.
