Case Management System: Development Project
Terms of Reference for Case Management System Development Project
1.
Introduction and Overview OF THE Ethiopian Institution of Ombudsman
1.1 General Overview
The Ethiopian Institution of Ombudsman (EIO) is an institution of the legislature that investigates complaints about maladministrative actions of the executive branches of both federal and regional government agencies. It was established by proclamation 211/2000. It has the power to obtain necessary information for an investigation and to recommend corrective action if a complaint is found to be substantiated.
The Institution serves as a neutral, independent intermediary between the citizen and the agency. It conducts investigations in a fair and impartial manner. It does not provide legal advice, nor does it serve as legal counsel, advocate, or representative on behalf of any person or agency.
The Institution gathers information to independently and impartially investigate complaints against regional and federal agencies. If it reveals that the complaint is substantiated, it attempts to resolve the problem with the agency.
It determines whether a complaint is substantiated by comparing an agency's actions against what the law requires as well as the principles of sound, fair, and reasonable administrative practice. It resolves substantiated complaints through recommendations and reasoned persuasion.
In addition to the resolution of individual complaints, if it finds possible areas for improvement to make government work better, it will make recommendations for changes to the law, administrative rules, or operating procedures.
In short the institution has the following mandates:
$ Obtain necessary information for an investigation and to recommend corrective action if a complaint is found to be substantiated.
$ Carryout researches in the areas of maladministration to find possible areas for improvement to make government work better, it will make recommendations for changes to the law, administrative rules, or operating procedures.
$ Aware or train the general public and stakeholders the issues of maladministration and the ways to fight back.
1. 2 LOCATION OF INSTITUTION FACILITY
The Head Quarter of the Institution is located on the way from Arat kilo to Piassa near Birhanena Selam Press,
1.3 CURRENT SITUATION AND PROBLEM
2. Objective
The objective of the required service is, therefore, to develop an effective integrated case management software systems that support document processing, data processing, and decision processing and utilize an advanced network to establish an efficient and effective computer case management system to help better serve the needs of the public.
3. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
3.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF CURRENT TECHNOLOGY
Current case processing and other tasks in the Office of the Institution is supported by paper and hardcopy information; facsimile, telephonic transmission; email, data files created from Microsoft Office Professional applications; Adobe pdf formatted documents.
3.2 EXISTING IT infrastructure
The table below summarizes the current IT infrastructure available and in use by the Institution.
|
S.N |
Infrastructure Type |
Status Description |
|
1 |
Hardware |
Desktop computers are available, but no servers |
|
2 |
Software |
Microsoft Windows and Ms office are in use |
|
3 |
Network |
Leased line internet access and Local area network exist |
4. SCOPE OF WORK
4.1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
The EIO seeks the services of a lead and experienced system developer which in consultation with the Institution will study, customize, deliver, install, and implement, an integrated Case Management System (CMS) and document management system that meets all or most of the functional requirements and system objectives set forth in this TOR. The developer preferably will provide a suite of case management applications fulfilling the functionality requirement described in this TOR, and should have proven track record for successfully accomplishing similar tasks. The CMS proposed must also be comprehensive in terms of functional characteristics, modern in the utilization of technical software features, relational in its database, user-friendly in its operation.
The Institution expects to partner with the selected developer to customize the baseline existing case processing applications to fit its operations, test the customized applications, convert data from manual systems, and implement the new applications
To the extent permitted by law, the Institution will agree to maintain confidentiality regarding any proprietary source code or related documentation.
The CMS must be able to carry out, in a modern, technologically efficient, cost effective, and timely fashion, all the functions encompassed in the service for case management application of the Institution. Additionally, the developed CMS must be able to:
1. IMPROVE UPON THE FUNCTIONALITY, EFFICIENCY, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM;
2. INTEGRATE INFORMATION ABOUT CASES BEING PROCESSED IN THE INSTITUTION;
3. INTEGRATE THE STORAGE AND ACCESS OF SCANNED DOCUMENTS; AND
4. PERMIT ELECTRONIC FILING AND STORAGE OF DOCUMENTS;
4.2 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND CMS OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the CMS that the Institution is seeking and the majority of the functional requirements desired for the requested CMS were developed through several years of using the current manual case management approach and evaluating areas for improvement. These system objectives and functional requirements are described below
- All data from the office’s manual system must be converted, if necessary, and migrated to the new CMS.
- Staff selected by the office to serve as administrators of CMS must be provided onsite training to perform, at a minimum, basic modification, maintenance, and troubleshooting of the CMS.
- Technical support and maintenance services should be available via telephone Monday through Friday, 8:3000 a.m. through 5:30 p.m at a minimum.
- A trial period of not less than 90 days, during which the office can test the software, prior to final acceptance of the CMS, would be preferred.
The following have been identified as activities that are common for all case types that come before the Institution (case processing activities):
1. Case initiation -- The activities that initiate and create a case, along with associated contact records for the case, including associated record keeping and reporting. Cases are initiated via phone calls, letters, emails, in-person, and facsimiles. For each case, the analyst obtains as much relevant information as possible and records the information onto an intake sheet. Other office staff enters data from the intake sheet into the case management application which generates a case number for each case. After an analyst’s cases are entered, the system generates a new case listing report. The different types of cases are: (1) Jurisdictional Complaint; (2) Non-Jurisdictional Complaint; and (3) Information Request.
2. Updating case information and related record keeping – After a case is initiated and entered into the system, the analyst works on the case. The work consists of case investigation, including the entering of notes of actions taken, including: (1) contacts made, type of contact, and associated information (such as phone number, addresses, time of contact), (2) information gathered, and (3) any analysis such as the next step or action. This also must include associating the case or action with other related cases. After each activity, the analyst prints their notes for supervisor review and signoff.
3. Scheduling – The activities associated with scheduling upcoming events, including responses to correspondence, calendaring of agency and site visits, and monitoring staff’s adherence to schedules. Scheduling activities, in conjunction with the Institution’s business rules, provides measurable objectives by which analysts assess case progress and management assess performance.
4. Case closure – The activities associated with final closure of a case (i.e., case status becomes “closed”). These activities include case disposition, which consists of all activities associated with disposing all or part of a case or individual parties in a case and the reasons for disposing of the case. The CMS must also have the ability to reopen cases if necessary.
5. File and property management – The activities associated with: (1) creation, storage, management, tracking, archiving, and disposing of manual, electronic, and imaged case files; (2) management of electronic and imaged documents; and (3) receiving, tracking, and returning or removing cases from the system.
6. Security – The activities associated with ensuring the integrity of the CMS, its data, and its documents during normal operations and after a system failure or power outage. This is accomplished through a combination of features in the CMS software, the normal computer hardware and system software, and special-purpose hardware and software. This function also includes ensuring security, privacy, and integrity of the CMS and its data, and providing the ability to seal particular case records or restrict access to particular records.
7. Management and statistical reporting – The activities associated with reporting caseload, case flow, and workload statistics and other operations, and staff management information. While the standard method of presenting this information would be printed reports, summaries of the information should be available through other types of presentations (e.g., graphs, charts) when requested by the user.
8. Training activities management-Information related to activities associated with training and education of the public and stakeholders on maladministration issues should be recorded and retrieved.
9. Research activities management-Information related to activities associated with research should be recorded and retrieved.
10. Monitoring and supervision-Information related to activities associated with monitoring and supervision should be recorded and retrieved.
11. Online Reporting system- Reports associated with Freedom of Information should be captured online and compiled.
Case Management System Requirements
1. The ability to record data in Amharic language
2. The ability to record every element of data associated with each case being managed. The data must be able to be recorded on a screen panel with related data and the Institution's Office must be able to establish business rules and validation rules associated with each data element.
3. The ability to record every element of training and education provided on a given case. (i.e. the system should have a Training Management Subsystem by which EIO staff can record and retrieve training related information).
4. The ability to record every element of research activities on maladministration issues. (i.e., the system should have a Research Management Subsystem by which EIO staff can record and retrieve research related information).
5. The ability to record every element of monitoring and supervision activities and related feedbacks. (i.e., the system should have a Monitoring and Supervision Subsystem by which EIO staff can record and retrieve supervision related information.)
6. The ability to store and distribute public and classified documents.
7. The ability to capture reports online from grassroots and save them in the database.
8. The ability to use terminology familiar to the Institution's Office. Therefore, the ability to customize all drop-down lists to utilize terminology familiar to all members of staff, the ability to extend these drop-down lists whenever necessary, and the ability to name every data element on every screen to reflect the identity by which these data elements are known at the office.
9. The ability to design each screen panel to reflect the use of data at the Institution's Office, as well as removing any data elements not required to be captured by the office.
10. The ability to provide a very high level of security, both at the data element level, as well as at the process level. This means that access to sensitive data must be able to be managed by either user name or by role being performed. If a user is not eligible to see sensitive data, there must be no way that the user can access that data.
11. The ability to have workflow that manages the process for each different type of activity that is handled by the Institution's Office. This workflow must be able to be changed easily by administrative staff at the Institution's Office.
12. The ability to maintain a copy of every document created during the processing of the case, so that at any time in the future, every document is available for reference.
13. The ability to have any number of individuals (contacts) associated with a case and recorded as part of the case, and to have these contacts exist in different classes (such as complainant, third-party on behalf of complainant, witness, etc.). Each class may optionally receive a different level of processing.
14. The ability to have the CMS automate repetitive tasks, such as filling in electronic forms or creating personalized letters from standard templates.
15. The ability to quickly and easily search for and locate cases and contacts and display all information related to the selected target.
16. The ability to create ad hoc reports simply and quickly to analyze any facet of the information stored in the database.
17. The ability to easily extract information from the database, summarize it and automatically pass it to Microsoft Excel for further analysis.
18. The ability to audit all activity and maintain a complete and secure audit trail of every action performed in the system, including the name of the operator, the date and time of the action, and the type of activity performed.
19. The ability to be available and work on web and intranet(VPN) environments.
20. The ability be customized and installed at regional branch offices.
21. The ability to work in offline mode at branch offices and later data replication,(in addition to online mode)
As part of its proposal, each developer is expected to fill out and submit the detailed functional requirements tables set forth in Separate Annex, as well as provide details regarding how its proposed CMS will meet the system objectives and functional requirements set forth in this TOR.
4.3 IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
Within ten (10) days of receipt from the Institution of a notice of winning the bid, the selected developer shall make a presentation to designated Institution personnel, detailing its plan for the installation and implementation of its CMS, and the conversion and transfer of data from the manual system into the proposed CMS. Such plan shall include conversion of data, new hardware required, training issues, and timetables with critical dates.
4.4 DATA CONVERSION
The selected developer will be required to convert manual data of pending cases to the new system.
4.5 Hardware Provision
Although the Institution may procure the necessary hardware for the system through another contract, it’s the responsibility of the system developer to submit complete and relevant bill of quantities and specifications for all hardware and related accessories (like servers and its software) that are needed for the integrated Case Management System.
4.6. Configuration and installation
Configuring the following services on the three servers is also the responsibility of the selected consultant.
$ Server Operating system
$ Active directory and domain controller
$ Massaging system (exchange server)
$ ISA server
$ Web server
$ Backup server
$ Corporate antivirus
4.7 ACCEPTANCE TESTING
Before acceptance of the new CMS, the Institution intends to conduct business scenario tests to verify that the CMS meets the functional requirements and system objectives set forth in this TOR. The Institution will appoint a panel of members with an understanding of office operations to conduct the tests, which may include: volume stress tests; system integration tests; file integrity tests; and software fit tests. The successful processing of the test data and implementation of the required features for the CMS, as confirmed by the signatures of designated Institution officials, shall constitute acceptance of the test scenarios and authorization for final payment for the system.
4.7 TRAINING
The Institution believes that a high standard of training and support will be crucial to the overall success of the new automated CMS. It is imperative, therefore, that the selected developer provides a comprehensive training program for each of the training areas listed below. The selected developer must provide the curriculum, course materials, instructors, and instructional manuals, videos, or compact/digital disks to conduct each required training program. Additionally, upon completion of the training, the selected developer shall transfer a hard and electronic copy of all training materials to the Institution, which will conduct future training sessions. Such transfer shall include the license/authority to reproduce the relevant curriculum, course materials, and instructional manuals, videos or compact digital disks.
- The selected developer must provide a training program for Institution support staff responsible for maintenance, database administration and support, field support, job scheduling, help desk, system software operations, and central site computer operations related to each new CMS function. At the end of the training, the technical support staff should be able to install, maintain (without changing source code), and support all aspects of the installed CMS.
- The selected developer must provide a well-documented, hands-on training program that will enable Institution staff to use the installed CMS. This training should address how the CMS is accessed and navigated and how specific transactions/tasks are accomplished by CMS users. The selected developer must provide process training on new CMS processes and workflow procedures that are unfamiliar to the system users. This training should address the steps that users must take to accomplish case processing activities and to obtain the competencies necessary to effectively use the new CMS in their jobs. The training program should be provided for the following levels of users:
- Front office staff (intake officers, workers)
- Analysts :( Investigators)
- Systems Support: (IT Staff)
- Front office staff (intake officers, workers)
4.8 WARRANTY, MAINTENANCE, AND SUPPORT
The selected developer shall provide a program of free maintenance and support (including software fixes) of the installed CMS for a warranty period of not less than two years after installation. The selected developer shall also provide a program for maintenance and support of the CMS after the expiration of the warranty period that includes telephone or written consultation, email or on-site problem resolution, correction or replacement of software defects, and modifications or updates of the software. However, the Institution retains the sole option to purchase or decline the post-warranty maintenance program, and if the Institution declines to purchase this maintenance program, the CMS software must continue to be legally licensed for Institution use.
4.9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
The selected developer shall submit written progress reports to the CMS Project Manager within ten days after the end of each month that it remains under contract with the Institution. These reports shall discuss the progress made regarding the CMS implementation, relate any changes, problems, or delays which have occurred that may affect the objectives of the TOR, and report any decisions that must be made by the Institution if successful implementation of the CMS is to continue.
4.10 PROJECT DELIVERABLES
Deliverables by the selected developer shall include, where not deemed proprietary:
$ An electronic copy of the technical documentation for its CMS, covering at a minimum:
1. Application design and architecture;
2. Application structure and module/sub module /program/ subroutine relationship;
3. Application security procedures;
4. Application start-up/shut-down procedures;
5. Application back-up, recovery, and checkpoint procedures;
6. Software installation requirements, including memory, disk, software prerequisites/versions, and others;
7. Disaster recovery procedures;
8. Database design and architecture;
9. Data dictionary structure and maintenance procedures;
10. Audit and testing procedures;
11. System troubleshooting and system tuning procedures and features;
12. System administration functions;
13. Report writer procedures; and
14. Use of software tools and debugging aids.
15. Hardware and network upgrades or modifications, in addition to what the Institution has committed to provide, necessary to run developer's CMS applications;
16. Hands-on training, instructional manuals, and instructional videos/disks on installation, implementation, and maintenance of the system;
17. Hands-on training, training manuals, and instructional videos/disks for end users of the system.
18. Implementation, Conversion, and Acceptance Test plans for the CMS;
19. Monthly progress reports;
20. Software Package
5. Experience and qualification of the Consultant
5.1. Firm’s Experience
The IT consulting firm interested in this assignment should have a track record of successfully carrying out assignment of similar nature. More over the firm should possess knowledge and experience in all of the following areas:
$ Computer systems analysis and design;
$ Generation of system requirements and documentation;
$ Development and implementation of automated integrated case management solutions in an investigative environment;
$ Transfer systems methodology;
$ Conversion of data from manual system to automated system;
$ Integrating case management systems;
$ Project management of automated systems projects;
$ Training on support and maintenance of integrated systems for the institution’s information technology staff;
$ Training Ombudsman staff on how to use an integrated automated case management system; and
5.2. Key Staff Minimum Qualification and Experience
|
S.N |
Position |
Qualification |
Relevant Experiences in years) |
|
1 |
Project manager |
B.A or above in Management or related fields |
6 or more |
|
2 |
Team leader |
BSC or above in Computer science, information science or related fields |
4 or more |
|
3 |
System Analyst |
BSC or above in Computer science or related fields |
3 or more |
|
4 |
Programmer |
BSC or above in Computer science or related fields |
2 or more |
|
5 |
System Tester |
Diploma or above in Computer science or related fields |
1 or more |
5.3. Bidders should submit the following along their proposals:
$ Documents and testimonies that exhibit their track records and experiences
$ Clients reference letters for successfully implementing the CMS
$ Properly signed CVs of key staff
6. Duration/timeframe
The Institution expects the study, customization, installation and etc of CMS to be completed over a period of not more than three months from the date of award of the contract.
7. Evaluation Criteria
Technical proposals will be rated as per the following matrix. A firm will have to score a minimum of 70% to be considered for the next step. Financial evaluation will be conducted for the qualified and responsive technical proposals (i.e 70% and above). The responsive and qualified firm with the lowest financial proposal will be issued a contract.
|
1. |
Expertise of Firm / Organization submitting Proposal (relevance of experience, reputation of firm, general organization) |
30% |
30 points |
|
2. |
Proposed Work Plan and Approach (understanding of TOR, scope of task, clear presentation, |
50% |
50 points |
|
3. |
Personnel (General qualification, specialized trainings, professional experience, knowledge of region) |
20% |
20 ponits |
Submission of Technical & Financial proposals
Qualified and interested Firms should submit their Technical and Financial proposals in separate sealed Envelopes to the following address no later than 23 November 2009:
UNDP
Procurement Specialist
ECA Compound Old Bld.
Vacancy No: RFP/043/2009
Fax: 251 11 5514599 / 5515147