81 FR 1599 - Request for Information: Software Vendors of State and Local Management Information Systems (MIS) and Other Technology Solutions for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 8 (January 13, 2016)

This is a request for information from Management Information Systems (MIS) software and hardware vendors and developers (``vendors'') to learn about the functionality of State and School Food Authority National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program (NSLP/SBP) data management information systems. It is not a request for proposal and does not commit the Government to issue a solicitation, make an award, or pay any costs associated with responding to this announcement. All submitted information shall remain with the Government and will not be returned. All responses will become part of the public record and will not be held confidential. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking information that will inform future data reporting requirements for the Department's oversight and management of NSLP/SBP. The Department is aware that all States and many school districts have installed and implemented MIS or other technology solutions to improve State and local program management. To better understand the availability and implementation of these solutions, USDA is requesting information from vendors about NSLP/SBP data systems they offer and have deployed at the State and local levels. The objectives of this request for information (RFI) are to: 1. Obtain background data to inform later research on State and School Food Authority (SFA) NSLP/SBP data management information systems. 2. Describe the functionality and capabilities of systems currently in use by State agencies and SFAs, or available to States and SFA for purchase. 3. Describe the typical costs of system development, installation, maintenance, and upgrades. 4. Identify which States and SFAs are using particular systems.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1599-1601]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-00504]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Request for Information: Software Vendors of State and Local 
Management Information Systems (MIS) and Other Technology Solutions for 
the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice; Request for information.

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SUMMARY: This is a request for information from Management Information 
Systems (MIS) software and hardware vendors and developers 
(``vendors'') to learn about the functionality of State and School Food 
Authority National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program (NSLP/SBP) 
data management information systems. It is not a request for proposal 
and does not commit the Government to issue a solicitation, make an 
award, or pay any costs associated with responding to this 
announcement. All submitted information shall remain with the 
Government and will not be returned. All responses will become part of 
the public record and will not be held confidential.
    The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking 
information that will inform future data reporting requirements for the 
Department's oversight and management of NSLP/SBP. The Department is 
aware that all States and many school districts have installed and 
implemented MIS or other technology solutions to improve State and 
local program management. To better understand the availability and 
implementation of these solutions, USDA is requesting information from 
vendors about NSLP/SBP data systems they offer and have deployed at the 
State and local levels.
    The objectives of this request for information (RFI) are to:
    1. Obtain background data to inform later research on State and 
School Food Authority (SFA) NSLP/SBP data management information 
systems.
    2. Describe the functionality and capabilities of systems currently 
in use by State agencies and SFAs, or available to States and SFA for 
purchase.
    3. Describe the typical costs of system development, installation, 
maintenance, and upgrades.
    4. Identify which States and SFAs are using particular systems.

DATES: To be assured of consideration, written comments must be 
submitted or postmarked on or before March 14, 2016.

[[Page 1600]]


ADDRESSES: The Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, invites the submission 
of the requested information through one of the following methods:
     Preferred method: Submit information through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submissions.
     Mail: Submissions should be addressed to Dennis Ranalli, 
Social Science Policy Analyst, Office of Policy Support, FNS, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, 
Alexandria, VA 22302.
     Comments may also be emailed to 
[email protected].
    All information properly and timely submitted, using one of the 
three methods described above, in response to this request for 
information will be included in the record and will be made available 
to the public on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. Please be 
advised that the substance of the information provided and the identity 
of the individuals or entities submitting it will be subject to public 
disclosure.
    All written comments will be open for public inspection at the FNS 
office located at 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302, 
Room 1014, during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 
Monday through Friday). All responses to this notice will be summarized 
and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval. All comments will be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of this request for information should be directed to Dennis 
Ranalli at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The current Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) 
routine data collection requirements for the National School Lunch 
Program and School Breakfast Program (NSLP/SBP) have their roots in the 
paper and early computer eras and reflect concerns with paperwork and 
reporting burden. Thus, data collected to administer and monitor these 
programs is typically reported at the State level, with detailed data 
collected at the service delivery point (e.g., individual meal 
transactions, school) often aggregated at one or more levels (e.g., 
school to SFA to State-level) before being submitted to FNS. Data 
aggregation results in a significant loss of potentially valuable 
information that could support administration, monitoring, and policy 
development.
    FNS recognizes that, in fact, managing a school food service 
program is a complex and data intensive operation, and that SFAs 
collect, generate, and maintain far more data than they report to their 
State child nutrition agencies. This includes data on costs, revenues, 
inventories, vendor management, and other business, administrative and 
regulatory activity. The same is true of State agencies that are 
responsible for monitoring the work of many SFAs. Some States and SFAs 
have developed more sophisticated data management systems to manage 
program data, however there is no comprehensive inventory of NSLP/SBP 
management information systems (MIS) in use, the number of States and 
SFAs that use MIS, or the data elements collected to support FNS 
reporting and general program management.
    The Review of Child Nutrition Data and Analysis for Program 
Management project will fill this knowledge gap by fully documenting 
SFA and State NSLP/SBP management information systems. This baseline 
``as is'' review will document overall NSLP/SBP information system 
design, capabilities, functions, development/replacement and 
maintenance costs, and typical lifespan. The ``as is'' review is 
focusing particular attention on NSLP/SBP program management data that 
are collected or generated at the SFA or State agency levels, but are 
not required to be reported to FNS on any FNS program report forms. 
Findings from the RFI and additional review activities will provide a 
baseline for potential improvements to data collection practices and 
help support future MIS modernization and paperwork reduction efforts. 
They will also help identify promising and emerging practices and 
define models for MIS at both the state and local SFA levels.
    FNS requests that vendors respond in detail to the items below. 
Vendors are encouraged to provide any material that addresses the 
information requested or any other information that may be pertinent. 
Additional references or links to materials are welcome.

I. Vendor Information

a. Name of Company
b. Address and Telephone Number
c. Vendor Representative, contact number and email address

II. Vendor Overview & Experience

    Briefly describe your company, your products and services, history, 
and ownership; for example:

a. Web site address
b. Main product/services
c. Main market/customers
d. Company location(s)
e. Product deployment sites/school systems
    1. Number of School District/schools currently deployed
    2. Average/typical size of the school system
    3. Year of first deployment
    4. Years serving schools

III. Product Information

    a. List and describe the core modules provided by your product. For 
example:

1. Point of Sale/Service (POS)
2. Prepayment system(s) for parents
3. Nutrient Analysis and Menu Planning
4. Inventory Management
5. Purchasing/Vendor Management
6. Production Records
7. Financial Management
8. Free and Reduced-Price Meals Applications
     Scanning paper applications
     Processing On-line applications
     Making eligibility determinations
     Creating benefit issuance documents
     Conducting verification
9. Direct Certification
     SNAP recipients
     Extended SNAP household members
     Other direct certification--homeless, migrant, foster
10. Meal counting and claiming
11. Administrative Review
12. Reporting
13. Any other not listed above

    b. Describe the capabilities and reporting functionalities of your 
product.
    c. Describe your platform--site-based, central office w/satellite, 
cloud-based, etc.
    d. For SFAs, are POS terminals proprietary or third-party?
    e. Is your system a commercial off the shelf (COTS) product with 
application in multiple industry segments or school nutrition specific?
    f. Does your firm rely on any `third party software products/
systems' for implementation and/or operation?
    g. Are any additional licenses required from `third party sources' 
to utilize your product?
    h. What is your product's ability to interface with other vendor 
systems? What level of customization is available?
    i. List the minimum and recommended hardware requirements to 
implement and utilize your product at each level of installation.
    j. Describe the interface capabilities between your product and 
various within-district student data base systems.
    k. Describe the interface capabilities between your product and 
State agency systems.

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    l. Does your system adhere to Schools Interoperability Framework 
(SIF) standards?
    m. Please provide a list of data elements captured/stored by your 
product. For example:

1. Name of the data element
2. Description of the data element
3. Possible values

    n. Describe the processes/procedures/steps associated with 
planning, installation, setup, data import and conversion, data 
migration, quality assurance, deployment, and roll-out for your 
product.

IV. Customer Support, Maintenance and Security

    a. Describe your model for providing customer support, including 
charge/cost structure (e.g., hours of support, levels of support).
    b. Describe your incident reporting and tracking systems, and the 
ability for customer staff to access those systems directly.
    c. List the types of support access that are available (web, email, 
chat, telephone etc.).
    d. Describe the communication and escalation processes/protocols in 
the event of failure, network outages, degraded service, and/or 
exceeded planned utilization.
    e. Describe your replication, archival and retrieval processes, 
including your disaster recovery model.
    f. Describe the warranty and maintenance plan(s) for your product. 
Have there been recent upgrades or updates to your product? How often 
do you typically develop and release upgrades?
    g. Is your support agreement integrated into the license agreement?
    h. Describe your understanding and system approach to privacy 
rules, specifically those related to children and students (Children's 
Online Privacy Protection Act, Family Educational Rights and Privacy 
Act, etc.).
    i. Describe your process for upgrading your product to meet federal 
and state regulations.
    j. Does your product support access through smartphones, tablets, 
laptops etc.?

V. Pricing

    a. Describe your pricing models relevant to each component of your 
product.
    b. Is your pricing model based on purchasing the entire product or 
individual module(s), or is it based on usage/users?
    c. Describe the upgrade process and cost to upgrade.
    d. List any additional pricing/cost information that would be 
useful to evaluate the affordability of the product.

VI. Training

    a. What type of technical training do you provide?
    b. Describe your product's documentation and in-program help?

Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-00504 Filed 1-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-30-P