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“IT staff augmentation contracts provide temporary IT staff resources on an as-needed hourly basis,” according to DIR’s website. “Resources are acquired via solicitations initiated by eligible DIR cooperative contract customers.”
When acquiring IT staffing services, customers can either solicit a request for resume or issue a statement of work (SOW) for more staffing solutions.
However, Alexis Jimerson, a procurement lead for DIR, explained that this RFO falls under the agency’s cooperative contracts category.
“These contracts are do-it-yourself,” Jimerson said. “They cover hardware, software, deliverable-based IT contracts, staffing services and bulk purchasing.”
Benefits of these contracts include leveraging the state’s buying power to lower prices and streamlining the purchasing process by reducing purchasing time for customers, vendors and contract cycle time.
In FY22 alone, Jimerson said DIR generated $3.05 billion in cooperative contracts, producing $395 million in savings.
A large portion of those contracts came from local government agencies totaling $556.5 million, while $645.8 million came from K-12 institutions, $455.5 million from state agencies, $347.3 million from higher ed institutions, $36.9 million from out-of-state and $3.2 million from assistance organizations.
Important dates to note regarding DIR-CPO-TMP-579 include the following:
- 9/1/2023: DIR will publish the RFO on Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD).
- 9/15 at 9 a.m. CST: DIR will host an optional vendor conference.
- 09/29 at 5 p.m. CST: All questions regarding the RFO must be submitted.
- 10/31 at 2 p.m. CST: All RFO responses and vendor references must be submitted.
- 11/3: An evaluation of responses, oral presentations (if requested), negotiation and contract executions will occur.
