Deadline Next Week for RFI Consultant for EDD Modernization

Next week is the deadline for vendors to submit proposals to the state Employment Development Department to manage the RFP process for a planned modernization of the state benefits system.

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 deadline is Jan. 25.

EDD is seeking the consulting services for 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.  

A summary of RFI responses compiled by EDD for the modernization itself shows that initial estimates from five vendors vary widely. One vendor, for example, estimated “vendor implementation costs” of $57.5 million, with an annual maintenance and operations budget of $11.3 million. On the high end, another vendor valued the project at $108 million.

Those costs do not include the state’s costs for “staffing, support consultants, oversight, facilities cost, etc.,” said Aubrey Henry, media services chief for EDD.

EDD’s 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."