Request for Expressions of Interest On a contract to perform: Renewal of Information Technology Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 Request for Expressions of Interest On a contract to perform: Renewal of Information Technology Strategic Plan for City of Pitt Meadows

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3 Table of Contents Table of Contents... 2 General Information... 3 Purpose... 3 Background... 3 Terms of Reference... 4 IT Strategic Focus Areas... 5 Statement of Work... 7 Proposed Deliverables... 8 Response Information... 9 Contact Information... 9 Timing and Key Dates... 9 Response Submission Selection Process Basis of Selection Acceptance of Response City of Pitt Meadows Page: 2

4 General Information The City of Pitt Meadows (hereinafter referred to as City ) is a Municipal Government located within the Lower Mainland of Vancouver. We currently have a staff compliment of approximately 65. As a City we service a community with a population of over 18,500. For further information about the City, please see our web site at For additional information on how to respond to this Request for Information, please refer to the Response Information section below. Purpose The City of Pitt Meadows wishes to retain the services of a qualified consultant in the review and preparation of a renewed Information Technology Strategic Plan. To complete this plan, you will interview staff within the City, conduct meetings/workshops with council and management; and review our current IT Strategic Plan, and existing information technology infrastructure. This research, coupled with your experience in municipal information technology and technology management, will provide the basis for your deliverables. The City intends to use the information you provide in response to this RFEI to select a consultant provider best suited to meet our requirements as specified in this document. Background Our existing Information Technology Strategic Plan was created in 2002 and subsequently refreshed in Significant staffing and organizational changes have occurred since this time and continue to evolve. New technology opportunities, best practices in systems support, and security standards also continue to rapidly evolve challenging the assumptions made in developing the previous plans. Our information technology department continues to be guided by the core principals developed in the previous IT Strategic plans. Previous recommendations have been implemented, deferred pending resource allocation or abandoned as dated in their relevance to managing a modern IT infrastructure and support of current business needs. The current approach is focused mainly on shorter term, tactical needs. Major initiatives are identified and planned for on an annual basis but no longer fall under a broader, overarching plan. By renewing our IT Strategic Plan, we want to identify and plan for technology and support improvement opportunities based on current assumptions to ultimately make the best IT decisions which support the City s business needs and strategic goals while maintaining fiscal responsibility over the long term. The desired IT Strategic Plan is a stewardship document that guides the City in the ongoing development of its IT infrastructure and supports IT in the development of its annual operating plan while maintaining an alignment with the City s overall strategic plan. City of Pitt Meadows Page: 3

5 Terms of Reference The desired Strategic Information Technology Plan is composed of three main components: Information Technology Vision. The IT Vision defines: o The role of IT as a tactical and strategic partner of all corporate stakeholders and; o A consensus view of how information technology will be deployed and used to meet the overall business objectives of the City. Information Technology Strategy. The IT Strategy assesses: o The governance and role of IT corporately and defines a model organizational structure that is best suited to carrying out the technology plan. o The current technology and business applications environment, and defines the strategy for maintaining, migrating and/or alignment of the current environment to one based on the IT Vision. o Opportunities for technology to enhance productivity and efficiency across City business areas and the community o Current service levels and end user support and defines the benchmark for service expectations. Information Technology Plan. The IT Plan will o Define a high level master plan of initiatives to effectively manage the city s IT needs over the next 5 years. o Define the related resource & funding requirements to achieve the goals set out in the plan. The IT Plan will define specific steps required to implement the IT Strategy. o Recognize relevant privacy legislation when adopting new technologies While the IT Vision and Strategy provide a multi-year view for the City, the overall Strategic Information Technology Plan must be reviewed annually as part of the business planning process to refresh the plan based on accomplishments to date and to ensure continued alignment with departmental technology, business and support needs. City of Pitt Meadows Page: 4

6 Existing IT Strategic Focus Areas Work will focus on the following IT Strategic focus areas. Most of these areas were identified through development of the 2002 and 2006 Strategic plan and still maintain relevance. 1. IT Visioning and Strategy a review of the high-level goals for our information technology vision at the City. A high-level scan of the municipal IT environment, including issues and trends in technology relevant to the City s business areas. This focus area should drive all other IT aspects and should answer the following questions: i. What strategic directions is the City moving towards and how can technology support these? Previous IT Strategic Plan should be reviewed against the City corporate strategic plans with gaps and opportunities noted. ii. Does the City wish to continue to be a fast follower with respect to the application of technology? Other positions might be: leader, laggard, outsourced services, etc 2. ITS Governance - assessment of current reporting structure and recommendations. This focus area should address the following questions: i. Does the current departmental alignment fully support the purpose, goals and objectives of IT? ii. Is IT seen as a valued partner to all city stakeholders in providing direction to IT services, technology, data management and business applications. 3. Access to City Information Assets includes ability of staff, council and public to obtain information, applications, services, and to transact business with the City via Information Technology and electronic channels. This focus area should answer the following questions: i. How well do we capture, manage, and provide access to our information assets? ii. How well do we support transactions between the city and its constituents iii. What information management strategies does technology provide which would streamline or improve our services? City of Pitt Meadows Page: 5

7 4. ITS Architecture Review High level assessment current technology infrastructure: Server & Storage Networking LAN WAN Security Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery Plan Remote Access Mobile Communications 5. Core Business Systems Review including high-level assessment of suitability and use of current applications. The existing systems should be reviewed (at a high level) to assess their scalability, integration opportunities, exploitation of available functionality, adequacy of training and business procedures, support of existing/evolving business and municipal requirements, vendor relationship and support satisfaction, and product future directions. Special focus should be given to; i. The current financial system and the range of applications and business areas currently supported ii. Business areas that are not currently supported by business systems iii. The absence of an integrated ERP system supporting all business functions A high-level assessing of current best-of-breed applications and penetration within municipal peers, should also be made. 6. ITS Management and Staffing Strategies including client and desktop support service assessment, network management and enhancement, technology infrastructure, business applications and process support, staff development and education, use of consultants versus internal staff, and including an internal ITS service survey. This focus area should address the following questions: i. What should the City be spending as a percentage of budget to resource our IT function? Comparisons should be made to other municipalities of similar size and functional-span. ii. Are we getting good value for money in the effectiveness for the current systems and management strategies? iii. At what point should we be increasing our in-house IT staff? City of Pitt Meadows Page: 6

8 Statement of Work Based on the overarching terms of reference and the IT Strategic Focus areas, your response will provide a comprehensive plan for the renewal of our IT roadmap and set a vision for upcoming IT technology projects and management strategies. The following tasks are a rough guide for you to plan your work: 1. Review of existing, updated IT Strategic Plan from Review of existing IT infrastructure and assets 3. Review of existing Technology Architecture, Security and related Standards 4. Review and make recommendations on the following IT strategic focus areas: IT Visioning and Strategy IT Governance Access to City information assets ITS Architecture review Core business system review ITS management and staffing strategies 5. Complete interviews with departmental management staff, regular staff and Council representatives, using pre-designed interview questions which can be statistically summarized including the capture of key points of concern and opportunity. 6. Identify and document gaps, opportunities, and key findings. 7. Present draft findings and renewed IT Strategic Plan to the Corporate Leadership and Operational Leadership teams. 8. Adjust IT Strategic Plan based on feedback from stakeholders. 9. Release and communicate finalized Strategic Plan to stakeholders. City of Pitt Meadows Page: 7

9 Proposed Deliverables Minimum required deliverables: 1. Weekly status report on progress, activities, issues and compliance with schedule. 2. All raw interview results and working papers. 3. Internal ITS Survey results. 4. Draft IT Strategic Plan with suggested project list including: i. Project benefits and strategic alignment ii. Project risks iii. Estimated capital cost iv. Estimated project implementation duration v. Estimated annual operating costs 5. Final IT Strategic Plan with prioritized project list. 6. Communication plan for stakeholders including presentation to Council. City of Pitt Meadows Page: 8

10 Response Information Contact Information Please send your response to: City of Pitt Meadows Harris Road Pitt Meadows, BC V3Y 2B5 Attention: Dave Philp, Business Analyst, IT Coordinator Telephone: Fax: Timing and Key Dates Listed below are the important events and the target dates and times by which the events are expected to be completed: Issue of RFEI July 10, 2013 Provider Inquiries/Questions Up To July 19, 2013 Response to RFI due no later than 2:00:00 PM, Local Time July 26, 2013 Evaluation of Response by ** August 2, 2013 Notification** August 2, 2013 **These dates are estimates, and are tentative at this point. City of Pitt Meadows Page: 9

11 Response Submission Please submit your information in writing and include the information identified below plus any information request in the Basis of Selection section: a) Company Background: i. Please provide information about your business, its history and relative experience in other projects, especially similar size municipalities or businesses. ii. Please provide details of the personnel you would assign to this project including qualifications, history with the company, and previous experience in a similar project. iii. Please provide a minimum of three (3) reference projects of similar size and scope (Municipal or public sector reference projects are preferred). b) Proposal: i. Describe in detail your Proposal. Include details related to number of meetings required with City of Pitt Meadows staff, deliverables you will provide, and any additional services. ii. Describe your anticipated timeline and delivery schedule. iii. Provide an estimation of cost to perform the identified work Responses may not be accepted after the Closing Date and Time, but they may be received anytime prior to the closing time stated. The City of Pitt Meadows accepts no responsibility for submissions which have not been received, either by mail, fax or electronically. It is recommended that you confirm with the person named above that your submission has been received by the date listed above. The City will not be obligated in any way by your response to the Request for Information. Your response and all supporting documents will remain at the City and will not be returned. Costs related to preparing and issuing your response will be entirely your responsibility. All response documents may be reproduced by the City, provided that such reproduction is made solely for internal use or for any purpose required by law [e.g., the Provisions of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act )]. It is your responsibility to inquire about and clarify any requirements of this Request for Information which are not understood. Inquiries regarding the Request for Information should be communicated to the City contact person noted above. City of Pitt Meadows Page: 10

12 Selection Process The selection process shall go through multiple stages as follows: The City may select Respondents deemed to be most qualified, on the basis of their submissions to the Request for Information received by the City. The selection process will evaluate the responses. Respondents shall be short listed, and then may be contacted to meet with the City selection team to exchange further information and to assess the experience and suitability of the responder to this project. Reference checks may be requested. The City may then make their decision and make a notification of award to the successful responder. Basis of Selection Responses to the RFEI shall be evaluated by a review team. Areas of evaluation include following criteria: 1. Experience performing similar work. Please indicate your experience, the deliverables provided, and your responsibilities working on comparable strategic IT assessment projects. Please provide the organizations names, locations, and contacts for reference purposes. 2. Direct experience with Information Technology Infrastructures, including but not limited to WAN\LAN configuration, Virtualization, Storage Area Networks, Security Architecture and Disaster Recovery Architectures. Please provide the organizations names, locations, and contacts for reference purposes. 3. Demonstrated experience working with government organizations and especially local governments. Please indicate your experience, the deliverables, and your responsibilities working on comparable projects for government organizations. Please provide the organizations names, locations, and contacts for reference purposes. 4. Interview and survey skills experience. Please indicate your success with interview and survey activities in the past, what these surveys were for, what techniques you used, and how you captured and summarized the results. 5. Analysis, report writing, and presentation skills experience. Please provide a sample of a strategically-focused report that you wrote. Please provide a sample of a related presentation (slides or notes) which you presented. (You may wish to remove the names of your clients, or replace them with fictitious names). City of Pitt Meadows Page: 11

13 6. Broad experience with Information Technology at multiple levels including: strategic planning; infrastructure acquisition and implementation; business systems selection, development, implementation; information technology operation and management; assessment of industry trends, risks, and opportunities. 7. Estimated cost of your work to complete the project. Please consider if your cost is a fixed-fee amount or an hourly fee. If you specify an hourly fee, please estimate the number of hours expected to complete the work. Please factor all costs including labour time, materials, travel, etc in your estimate. 8. The quality of your response document. Your response should be prepared in a straightforward and organized manner, and should describe your experience, capabilities, and availability to meet our schedule as outlined above. The format should be reasonably consistent, comprehensible, and appropriate to the purpose. Please provide information on each of the above criteria, so that the selection team can assess your response. Please provide a complete resume for any individual that you plan to have working on this project. Acceptance of Response The City may not necessarily accept the lowest priced or any Response. At its sole discretion, the City reserves the right to reject any or all Responses received and to accept any Response which it considers advantageous, or to further negotiate the details with any Responder, whether or not you are the lowest priced Responder, without any obligations to any other Respondents. The City is not under any obligation to negotiate a contract, and reserves the right to terminate this request-for-information process at any time, and to withdraw from discussions with all or any of the respondents. This RFEI process in no way is intended to form a contract between the City of Pitt Meadows and any party. This is a request for information, qualification, and quotation only. Once all information received has been reviewed, the City of Pitt Meadows may decide to: - Continue with a competitive bid process by developing a Request for Proposal. - Pursue one, some, or all of the options submitted. - Other courses of action as solely determined by the City. If the City of Pitt Meadows decides that one or more of the submissions is worth pursuing in an effort to establish a contract, the City of Pitt Meadows reserves the right to negotiate terms, scope, timelines, costs and any other matter of the project with any or all vendors independently without having any duty to advise any other vendor who submits through this process, and without liability to any vendor not awarded a contract. City of Pitt Meadows Page: 12