by Lynn Moore, MOSAIC communication team lead

The MOSAIC planning team is taking very seriously its objective to supply the Oklahoma Department of Human Services with the best business and technical systems available. In fact, team members have challenged the norms by thinking outside the box and, to their credit, have been met with support from both within and outside the agency.

With a Request for Proposal as vast and complex as the one being submitted to address the needs of the MOSAIC project, there was a real concern that vendors would not have adequate time to review and respond. This concern was identified as a risk to the project. To mitigate this risk, the MOSAIC planning team looked at several alternatives before deciding to challenge the norm and seek permission to post a draft RFP on the Department of Central Services Web site. Posting the draft RFP would give all potential vendors an opportunity to review the RFP. The vendors' review time would coincide with the team’s review of the RFP with the federal partners, which include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. As there was no precedent for allowing a draft RFP to be posted, the MOSAIC team is thankful for their partnership with DCS and the OKDHS Legal Division for making this happen.

In addition to posting the draft RFP, the MOSAIC team has taken another step toward getting the best bid responses and evaluation. An entire mock bid process was developed and executed, not only to test the evaluation process but to determine whether the RFP addresses the myriad elements associated with an enterprise project as large and encompassing as MOSAIC. This mock bid evaluated a response in the areas of business, technical, project management, finance, and accessibility, to name a few.

“This was a very tedious process, but the information gained from doing it was invaluable. We now know where we have room for improvement,” said Fonda Logston, MOSAIC program manager. “I’m not sure we would have found those areas had we not gone through this process.”

Participating in the mock bid review were employees from across OKDHS as well as outside the agency, including Data Services Division, Enterprise Program Management Office, Oklahoma Child Support Services, Family Support Services Division, Children and Family Services Division, Field Operations, Office of Inspector General, Finance, and the ABLE Commission. With the planning efforts of the MOSAIC team and the support of the agency, every effort is being made to secure a vendor that will assist in meeting the needs of OKDHS.

To find out more about the MOSAIC project, e-mail DHS.MOSAIC.Contact@okdhs.org.

Fonda Logston, Director of Enterprise Program Management Office, is shown giving a presentation on the MOSAIC project.