REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
FOR
A BUSINESS PROCESS ASSESSMENT
FOR
________________ COURT

RFP Number: ________________

Date issued: _______________


TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Purpose of Solicitation

2. BACKGROUND

2.1 Organization and Caseloads

3. QUALIFICATIONS OF PROPOSERS

3.1 Submission of Proposals
3.2 Evaluation Categories
3.3 Criteria Compliance
3.4 Submission of Alternatives
3.5 Additional Information Requests
3.6 Conditions of Award

4. CONTENT OF PROPOSAL

4.1 Proposal Information

5. SCOPE OF PROJECT

5.1 General Requirements
5.2 Reports and Reporting

6. PROJECT SCHEDULE

7. GENERAL INFORMATION ON SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

8. CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS


1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Purpose of Solicitation

The Court desires to solicit a Request for Proposal (RFP). The purpose of this RFP is to obtain a highly qualified and capable professional services firm that can successfully provide a detailed analysis of the Court's current business processes, potential restructuring of those business processes, existing information systems, potential integration between systems, potential integration with other state systems and potential integration with new or emerging technologies. The analysis should include the following:

2. BACKGROUND

2.1 Organization and Caseloads

In ______, legislation was passed to unify the Municipal and the County Court. Currently, there is one circuit court and 31 superior courts assigned to hear criminal, civil, probate, domestic, juvenile cases, ordinance violations and infractions. Within the system specialty courts are set up to hear domestic violence, felony and misdemeanor initial hearings, expedited drug, drug treatment, traffic, environmental, and Title IV-D cases.

In ______, the following cases were filed in the Court:

The majority of courts reside in the City-County Building at ____________________, City. Currently there are two satellite courts in the community: The Superior Court is assisted by the Office of the Court Administrator which manages the court's non-judicial functions, such as case management, court support programs, courtroom assignments, jury management, personnel management, fiscal management, and information technology services.

The Executive Committee exercises authority over the courts and is comprised of a Presiding Judge and two (2) Associate Presiding Judges. The Executive Committee created a Court Technology Committee to provide overall guidance regarding information technology planning, implementation, and maintenance.

3. QUALIFICATIONS OF PROPOSERS

Proposals for the project will be accepted from qualifying firms that are in operation at this time. The consulting firm will act as a partner with the Court through all phases of this project, including: 3.1 Submission of Proposals

Each proposer must submit an original and ten (10) copies of the proposal. Proposals must be received by the Court no later than 4:00 p.m., Month __, ______, at the following address:

The Court will not accept proposals submitted by telegraph or facsimile. The Court is not responsible for delays or losses caused by the U.S. Postal Service or any other carrier or delivery service. The Court reserves the right to accept proposals after the date specified.

3.2 Evaluation Categories

3.3 Criteria Compliance - The Court reserves the right to determine, in its sole and absolute discretion, whether any aspect of a Proposal satisfactorily meets the criteria established in this RFP.

3.4 Submission of Alternatives - Although this RFP specifies minimum requirements for completion of the project and should be responded to in all respects, Proposers are invited and encouraged to submit alternatives that may be of interest to the Court.

3.5 Additional Information Requests - The Court reserves the right to request additional information from Proposers during any phase of the proposal evaluation process. During the evaluation and selection process, the Court may require the presence of Proposer's representatives to make presentations and answer specific questions. Notification of any such requirements will be given as necessary.

3.6 Conditions of Award - The Court may elect not to award a contract solely on the basis of this RFP, and will not pay for the information solicited or obtained. The information obtained will be used in determining the alternative that best meets the needs of the Court.

4. CONTENT OF PROPOSAL

4.1 Proposals must include the following information, preferably in the following order:

5. SCOPE OF PROJECT

5.1 General Requirements 5.2 Reports and Reporting

6. PROJECT SCHEDULE

Issue Request For Proposal Month 1, _____
Written Question Due Month 20, _____
Answers To Questions Posted On The Court Web Page Month 30, _____
Proposals Responding To RFP Due Month+1 11, _____
Contract Awarded Month+2 2, _____
Status Reports To Project Management Each Friday By Noon
Draft Of Final Report Due Month+4 20, _____
Approval Of Final Report Month+4 27, _____
Final Report Due Month+5 3, _____
Analysis Presentations Dates To Be Determined

The successful Proposer must also be responsible for presenting the final document to the Executive Committee of the Court, the Justice Board, and the City-County Council (3 separate presentations). The successful Proposer's price to provide these services shall be included in its total costs and shall assume that the successful contractor will bear all costs in connection with the provision of such services.

7. GENERAL INFORMATION ON SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

EXCEPTIONS: All proposals are subject to the terms and conditions outlined herein. All responses shall be controlled by such terms and conditions and the submission of other terms and conditions, price lists, catalogs, and/or other documents as part of a contractor's response will be waived and have no effect either on this Request for Proposals or on any contract that may be awarded resulting from this solicitation. Contractor specifically agrees to the conditions set forth in the above paragraph by signature to the proposal.

ORAL EXPLANATIONS: The Court shall not be bound by oral explanations or instructions given at any time during the competitive process or after award.

REFERENCE TO OTHER DATA: Only information which is received in response to this RFP will be evaluated; reference to information previously submitted shall not be evaluated.

ELABORATE PROPOSALS: Elaborate proposals in the form of brochures or other presentations beyond that necessary to present a complete and effective proposal are not desired.

COST FOR PROPOSAL PREPARATION: Any costs incurred by contractors in preparing or submitting offers are the contractors' sole responsibility; the Court will not reimburse any contractor for any costs incurred prior to award.

TIME FOR ACCEPTANCE: Each proposal shall state that it is a firm offer which may be accepted within a period of 30 days. Although the contract is expected to be awarded prior to that time, the day period is requested to allow for unforeseen delays.

TITLES: Titles and headings in this RFP and any subsequent contract are for convenience only and shall have no binding force or effect.

CONFIDENTIALITY OF PROPOSALS: In submitting its proposal the contractor agrees not to discuss or otherwise reveal the contents of the proposal to any source outside of the using or issuing agency, government or private, until after the award of the contract. Contractors not in compliance with this provision may be disqualified, at the option of the Court, from contract award. Only discussions authorized by the issuing agency are exempt from this provision.

RIGHT TO SUBMITTED MATERIAL: All responses, inquiries, or correspondence relation to or in reference to the RFP, and all other reports, charts, displays, schedules, exhibits, and other documentation submitted by the contractors shall become the property of the Court when received.

CONTRACTORS REPRESENTATIVE: Each contractor shall submit with its proposal the name, address, and telephone number of the person(s) with authority to bind the firm and answer questions or provide clarification concerning the firm's proposal.

SUBCONTRACTING: Contractors may propose to subcontract portions of the work provided that their proposals clearly indicate what work they plan to subcontract and to whom and that all information required about the prime contractor is also included for each proposed subcontractor.

8. CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

INDEMNITY: The contractor agrees to indemnify, save and hold harmless the Court, its agencies, officers and employees, from any and all claims of any nature, including all costs, expenses, and attorneys' fees, which may in any manner result from or arise out of this agreement, except for claims resulting from or arising out of the Court's sole negligence. The contractor also agrees to indemnify, save and hold the Court harmless for all costs, expenses and attorneys' fees incurred in establishing and litigating the indemnification coverage provided herein.

TAXES AND LAWS: This contract shall be construed and governed by the laws of the State of __________. Any and all taxes are the sole responsibility of the contractor and as such should be included in all prices and paid directly to the proper agency, where applicable. Nothing contained in this RFP should be so construed as to conflict with any applicable local, municipal, State, or Federal law or regulation. All such laws and regulations are hereby made part of this RFP. Any violations of such codes caused by the contractor will be corrected by the contractor at no cost to the Court.

DISCRIMINATION: No person on the grounds of handicap or disability, age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other classification protected by Federal and/or Indiana constitutional and/or statutory law shall be excluded from participation in, or be denied benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination in the performance of this contract or in the employment practices of the contractor. The contractor shall, upon request, show proof of such non-discrimination, and shall post in conspicuous places, available to all employees and applicants, notices of non-discrimination.

INDEPENDENT PRICE DETERMINATION: A Contractor shall not be considered for award if the price in the proposal was not arrived at independently without collusion, consultation, communication, or agreement as to any matter relating to such prices with any other bidders or with any competitor. In addition, the Contractor is prohibited from submitting more than one proposal or submitting multiple proposals in a different form; i.e., as a prime contractor and as a subcontractor to another prime contractor. Alternate proposals shall result in the disqualification of the Contractor except as under Section 3.4, or except as requested by the Court in writing.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR: The contractor shall be considered to be an independent contractor and as such shall be wholly responsible for the work to be performed and for the supervision of its employees. The contractor represents that it has, or will secure at its own expense, all personnel required in performing the services under this agreement. Such employees shall not be employees of, or have any individual contractual relationship with the Court.

KEY PERSONNEL: The contractor shall not substitute or remove key personnel assigned to the performance of this contract without prior written approval by the Court. The individuals designated as key personnel for purposes of this contract are those specified in the Contractor's proposal.

SUBCONTRACTING: Work proposed to be performed under this contract by the Contractor or its employees shall not be subcontracted without prior written approval of the Court. Acceptance of a contractor's proposal shall include any subcontractor(s) specified therein.

PERFORMANCE AND DEFAULT: If, through any cause, the Contractor shall fail to fulfill in timely and proper manner the obligations under this agreement, the Court shall thereupon have the right to terminate this contract by giving written notice to the Contractor and specifying the effective date thereof. In that event, all finished or unfinished deliverable items under this contract prepared by the Contractor shall, at the option of the Court, become its property, and the contractor shall be entitled to receive just and equitable compensation for any satisfactory work completed on such materials. Notwithstanding, the contractor shall not be relieved of liability to the Court for damages sustained by the Court by virtue of any breach of this agreement, and the Court may withhold any payment due the Contractor for the purpose of setoff until such time as the exact amount of damages due the Court from such breach can be determined.

In case of default by the contractor, the Court may procure the services from other sources and hold the Contractor responsible for any excess cost occasioned thereby. The Court reserves the right to require performance bond or other acceptable alternative guarantees from successful contractor without expense to the Court.

Upon the entering of a judgment of bankruptcy of insolvency by or against the Contractor, the Court may terminate this contract for cause. Neither party shall be deemed to be in default of its obligations hereunder if and so long as it is prevented from performing such obligations by any act or war, hostile foreign action, nuclear explosion, riot, strikes, civil insurrection, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, or other catastrophic natural event or act of God.

TERMINATION: The Court may terminate this agreement at any time by 30 days notice in writing with the Contractor. In that event, all finished or unfinished deliverable items prepared by the contractor under this contract shall, at the option of the Court, become its property. If the contract is terminated by the Court as provided herein, the Contractor shall be paid for services satisfactorily completed less payment of compensation previously made.

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: Any and all payments to the Contractor are dependent upon and subject to the availability of funds to the Court for the purpose set forth in this agreement.

CONFIDENTIALITY: Any information, data, instruments, documents, studies or reports given to or prepared or assembled by the contractor under this agreement shall be kept as confidential and not divulged or made available to any individual or organization without the prior written approval of the Court.

CARE OF PROPERTY: The Contractor agrees that it shall be responsible for the proper custody and care of any property furnished it for use in connection with the performance of this contract or purchased by it for this contract and will reimburse the County for loss or damage of such property.

COPYRIGHT: No deliverable items produced in whole or in part under this agreement shall be the subject of an application for copyright by or on behalf of the Contractor.

ASSIGNMENT: No assignment of the Contractor's obligations nor the contractor's right to receive payment hereunder shall be permitted. However, upon written request approved by the issuing purchasing authority, the County may:

In no event shall such approval and action obligate the County to anyone other than the Contractor and the Contractor shall remain responsible for fulfillment of all contract obligations.

COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS: The Contractor shall comply with all laws, ordinances, codes, rules, regulations, and licensing requirements that are applicable to the conduct of its business, including those of federal, state, and local agencies having jurisdiction and/or authority.

ADVERTISING: The contractor shall not use the award of a contract as part of any news release or commercial advertising.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT: This contract and any documents incorporated specifically by reference represent the entire agreement between the parties and supersede all prior oral or written statements or agreements. This Request for Proposal, any addenda thereto, and the contractor's proposal are incorporated herein by reference as though set forth verbatim.

All promises, requirements, terms, conditions, provisions, representations, guarantees, and warranties contained herein shall survive the contract expiration or termination date unless specifically provided otherwise herein, or unless superseded by applicable federal or state statutes of limitation.

AMENDMENTS: This contract may be amended only by written amendments duly executed by the Court and the Contractor.

YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE/WARRANTY: Vendor shall ensure the product(s) furnished pursuant to this agreement ("product"' shall include, without limitation, any piece of equipment, hardware, firmware, middleware, custom or commercial software, or internal components, subroutines, and interfaces therein) which performs any date and /or time data recognition function, calculation, or sequencing, will support a four digit year format, and will provide accurate date/time data and leap year calculations on and after December 31, 1999, at the same level of functionality for which originally acquired without additional cost to the user. This warranty shall survive termination or expiration of the agreement.