Page 247 - Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)

232 AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS

special consideration within an AFIS procurement. The contractual language
is highly dependent upon the nature of the AFIS being acquired, so what
follows is stated in general terms.

9.7.6.1 Term of Contract
This clause defines how long the parties intend to be committed to the con-
tractual requirements. It sets forth the starting point of the contract, which may
be defined by law (i.e., not until after certain approvals are received), and the
ending point. The duration of the contract should not only reflect the likeli-
hood that it is the beginning of a long relationship, but also provide the gov-
ernment with the ability to discontinue the relationship without invoking the
termination clause. One way to achieve these goals is through a term composed
of a fixed number of years followed by a series of options to renew upon the
mutual agreement of the parties. If a party elects not to renew, notice would
need to be provided in advance.

9.7.6.2 How the AFIS Will Be Implemented and Deployed
Treatment of this concept depends on the nature of the acquisition. The
implementation of a single location AFIS to operate on a 5-day, business hour
availability is very different than a multi-site, criminal AFIS with latent search-
ing capabilities, operating on 24/7/365 availability. For the more complex
systems, consideration should be given to a phased approach. If a phased
approach is used, it should be supported by payment schedules tied to the
various phases, acceptance methodologies that permit acceptance of the phase
without acceptance of the entire system, and termination rights for each phase
in the event of significant schedule slips or if acceptance tests cannot be
satisfied.
If the solicitation seeks proposals from the vendors on build schedules, in
order to address delays in contract award or negotiations, it is recommended
that such proposals be submitted in terms of the amount of time to build or a
0 plus amount of time. For example, proposals should be phrased in terms of
45 days to accomplish a milestone, and not that the milestone will be reached
by June 1.

9.7.6.3 Payment Structure
The payment structure is integrally related to the implementation and deploy-
ment schedules negotiated. Accordingly, the RFP will probably only cover
general information, such as when the obligation to make payments occurs,
when payments must be made, and how payments can be made (e.g., via elec-
tronic transfers of funds). Many governmental entities have statutory require-
ments governing the determination of when late payments accrue.