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Business Partner Alliance

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In addition to the IT Temp QPAs, the IOT has negotiated BPA contracts to provide another streamlined method for obtaining IT professional services in four specific areas: IT Planning, Business Process Re-engineering, Application Development, and Geographical Information Services.

Unlike the IT Temp QPAs, which exist primarily to provide supplemental staff for an agency's operations or projects, the BPAs provide a vehicle to engage firms in a focused professional services (i.e., consulting or development) engagement without having to go through the contract process each time.

As the IOT reviews the IT Temp QPAs for improvement, it will also consider whether the BPA process adds value.

BPA Process

  1. The agency is responsible for identifying a project sponsor who serves as the point of contact. Project management will be the sole responsibility of the agency.
  2. The agency will encumber the funds via e-Procurement and pay all invoices. The vendor will directly bill the agency.
  3. The agency completes a Statement of Work (SOW) detailing project specifications and start/end dates.
  4. The agency and IOT review the four BPA areas of expertise and decide which area(s) meet(s) the agency's criteria.
  5. IOT will notify the appropriate vendors via email of (1) the opportunity as well as (2) whether or not there will be a vendor conference hosted by the customer agency.
  6. Vendors may respond to IOT and confirm or decline participation in the vendor conference, although attendance is not required to bid on the opportunity.
  7. The IOT and the agency co-host the vendor conference, at which time the agency presents general project requirements, answers questions, and identifies the agency point-of-contact to participating vendors. Vendors will be advised that oral responses to their questions are non-binding and that the agency will formally respond via email with a binding response to their questions.
  8. Each vendor in the selected BPA skill area may prepare a project Best and Final Offer (BAFO) or may notify the IOT that they decline further participation.
  9. The Total project cost shall not exceed $250,000.00.
  10. Participating vendors submit project BAFOs to the IOT.
  11. The IOT collects all BAFOs and forwards them as a group to the agency point-of-contact by the first business day following the deadline.
  12. The agency evaluates the BAFOs, selects its vendor of choice, and advises the IOT of its selection. The IOT then notifies all participating vendors of the selection.
  13. The agency presents the vendor selection packet to the State Budget Agency, and Minority Business Development for approval. The packet must include: (a) List of vendors receiving the opportunity, noting those that submitted a BAFO; (b) selection criteria; (c) selection process scoring' (d) narrative justifying the vendor selected, especially if the proposal was not the low bid; (e) Information Processing Procurement Request (IPPR), if required; (f) BPA Work Order signed by the vendor and the agency with attached Statement of Work; copy of the selected vendor's BAFO; (h) description of the vendor's Minority Business Enterprise sub-contractor participation.
  14. Upon approval, the agency sponsor and the vendor will jointly develop a Work Order that lists billable deliverables and any holdback funds.
  15. The agency must enter a requisition into PeopleSoft e-Procurement and process to a Purchase Order for the project. Doing so will encumber the funds for the project according to what was stated in the BAFO and as required by the agency's delegation of authority for purchasing. The requisition justification must indicate that the procurement method used is the BPA. The Procurement Division of IDOA has developed the BPA as an official and acceptable procurement method.
  16. The agency and vendor may then begin work on the project.
  17. The agency fiscal person must approve the vendor invoice(s) for payment, upon completion of each deliverable in the Work Order. The IOT and agency sponsor will verify whether or not payment should be made. If so, the payment information is entered into e-Procurement and tied to the original PO.