Request for Proposal RFP No. IT-2014-001 November 19, 2014 Online Meeting Management Solution Deadline for Receipt of Proposals: Wednesday, December 3, 2014 by 4:00 p.m. Proposals to be submitted by e-mail to Morgan Calvert: mcalvert@middlesex.ca Information Technology Department County of Middlesex Administration Offices 399 Ridout St. N. London, ON N6A 2P1
1) BACKGROUND AND INTENT OF THIS RFP The Corporation of the County of Middlesex (the County ) is the upper-tier governing body in Middlesex County, Ontario. Eight localized lower-tier municipal governments exist in the geography of Middlesex County and the County has other municipal partners (collectively, the Municipal Partner Entities ). In summary and without limiting the mandatory and rated requirements of this RFP (see section 4 of this RFP), the County is seeking to use an online agenda management service which provides Base Level Services (as defined in this RFP) to itself and its Municipal Partner Entities; meets all specifications and requirements of this RFP; provides Base Level Services (as defined in this RFP) for an annual fee of less than $25,000.00 payable by the County; allows each of the County s Municipal Partner Entities to be able, independent of County responsibility (for Base Level Services) to choose and purchase add-ons which would be billed directly to each respective Municipal Partner Entity at their own respective cost; and provides the County and its Municipal Partner Entities with what is in its opinion, provides the best overall value in a group based online agenda management solution for it and its Municipal Partner Entities. In this RFP, Base Level Services means: an online agenda management solution which: a) Uses/integrates with existing County owned infrastructure and software and the infrastructure and software of Municipal Partner Entities to host the online agenda management solution; b) has ipad app and ipad and PC based annotation capabilities; c) provides security to all non-public content (i.e. annotations) to the satisfaction of the County; d) remains available for use during County Council meetings, even during internet outages and disaster; e) Fully meets the requirements of the Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act ( AODA ) and includes a plan for continuing to meet AODA requirements moving forward; f) May be used by the County and up to five (5) separate Municipal Partner Entities for Base Model Services (as defined in this RFP) for a number of different meeting types; g) Accommodates each Municipal Partner Entity s website and branding; and h) Provides full product support, maintenance and training with respect to a through h at no additional charge beyond the all-inclusive annual fee. 2) PROPOSAL CONTENT AND DOCTRINE OF SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE This RFP includes both mandatory and rated requirements. The County requests proposals which: i. confirm and demonstrate compliance with all of the stated mandatory requirements; and ii. should address or respond to each of the stated rated requirements. a) Mandatory Requirements Mandatory requirements are expressed in this RFP using terms such as must or shall and are followed by the letter (M) in section 4 of this RFP. 2 P age
These mandatory requirements will be understood to constitute an imperative requirement of the County with respect to this RFP. Proponents are required to provide a clear response to each mandatory requirement item in their proposals. If a mandatory requirement is not provided in a Proposal, that Proposal will be considered non-complaint with this RFP and will be unable to be evaluated/scored under the Rated Requirements Evaluation Criteria (see Evaluation Methodology in section 5 of this RFP) unless the doctrine of substantial compliance (as defined in this RFP) is deemed to apply by the County in its sole and absolute discretion. If a mandatory requirement is not technically feasible, not in line with industry standards, or contradicts other requirements, the Proponent should state so in writing to Morgan Calvert (mcalvert@middlesex.ca) on or before November 26, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. The County in its sole and absolute discretion may recommend changes to Proposals in an addendum to this RFP (see section 7a of this RFP). b) Rated Requirements Proposals will be evaluated and scored pursuant to the Evaluation Methodology set out in section 5 of this RFP. The Rated Requirements Evaluation Criteria rates how strongly and the ease at which the characteristics of the mandatory requirements provided in proposals meet the County s needs. Rated requirements in this RFP are followed by the letter (R) in section 4 of this RFP and will be assessed/scored by the County in accordance with the Rated Requirements Evaluation Criteria set out in section 5b of this RFP. Note to Proponents: It is essential that Proposals are stated in a clear and concise manner. Failure to provide complete information as requested will be to the Proponent s disadvantage. c) Doctrine of Substantial Compliance While it remains the County s prerogative in its absolute and sole discretion to exclude any proposal from further evaluation or consideration for having failed to meet a mandatory requirement, the County nevertheless reserves the right in its absolute and sole election to determine that a proposal substantively complies with a mandatory requirement. In such a case, substantive compliance means where the solution proposed or the proposal itself: i. accomplishes a mandatory requirement using an alternative method than that envisaged by the County; and ii. the degree that the proposal is apparently non-compliant with the specified requirement is considered by the County to be minor and not material to the overall procurement intent of this RFP. 3) AWARD, POTENTIAL CONTRACT, and TERM OF POTENTIAL CONTRACT The County reserves the right to accept or reject any and or all proposals should such be determined by the County to be in the County s best interest. Should only one proposal be received, the County reserves the right to reject it. The County does not guarantee that any proposal will produce a staff recommendation to County Council or that any contract for services will ultimately be endorsed by County Council. In the event there is a successful Proponent to this RFP, the Award to a successful 3 P age
Proponent is a recommendation by County Staff for the successful Proponent to enjoy the sole ability of being able to discuss a potential contract with County Council. To provide incentive for the submission of proposals which meet the requirements of this RFP, the County is considering a discussion at County Council of a potential contract for the provision of Base Level Services (as defined in this RFP) in an online agenda management solution for an annual fee of less than $25,000.00 for a term of one year, with two successive options for the County to renew the contract for three (3) years each at the identical annual fee. In the event there is a successful proponent to this RFP which enters discussions with County Council, the County reserves the right to change its direction with respect to the term of any potential contract at any time prior to endorsement. In the event there is a successful proponent to this RFP and discussions with County Council ultimately fail to produce an endorsed contract, the Proponent in endorsing the RFP Response Form does hereby acknowledge that no damages or liability flow from such failure and does hereby release and hold harmless the County for any costs or damages incurred by the Proponent in preparing a Proposal or negotiating with County Council. 4) MANDATORY AND RATED REQUIREMENTS OF THIS RFP a) Mandatory Features (M) Proposals must (M) at minimum, provide an online agenda management solution that shall: 1. use/integrate existing County owned infrastructure and software and the infrastructure and software of Municipal Partner Entities to host the proposed solution; 2. use/integrate with existing software to build and post agendas to the proposed solution; 3. use/integrate with existing Middlesex County web site (www.middlesex.ca) and branding and the websites and branding of Municipal Partner Entities to provide online agendas; 4. allow for agenda annotations across multiple platforms (desktop, ipads, etc.) that are accessible across multiple devices; 5. include a Publish Feature which can notify staff, the public and elected officials through email or ipad app of newly published agendas; 6. support multiple meeting types and templates; 7. provide for offline agenda viewing for ipad and PC; 8. have a consistent document look and presentation but also be able to accommodate the specific website and branding of each of the County and the Municipal Partner Entities; 9. be adaptable to the changing needs of the County and Municipal Partner Entities in order to deliver meetings online; 10. provide security to all non-public content (i.e. annotations) to the satisfaction of the County; 11. remain available for use during Council meetings, even during internet outages and disaster; 12. fully meet the requirements of the Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act ( AODA ) and include a plan to meet those requirements moving forward; 13. be able to be used by the County and up to five (5) separate Municipal Partner Entities for Base Model Services (as defined in this RFP) for a number of different meeting types. 4 P age
b) Strength of Mandatory Features (R) The extent to which and ease at which the specific characteristics of the mandatory features (4a 1-13 above) provided in proposals meet the County s stated needs will be rated (R) pursuant to the Rated Requirements Evaluation Criteria set out in section 5b of this RFP. c) Existing Infrastructure Requirement (M) Proposals must (M) confirm the use of existing County server requirements: 1. Ubuntu Linux version 14 or higher; 2. MySQL Database Software version 5 or higher; 3. Apache web services version 2 or higher; and 4. Drupal Content Management System version 7. d) Software Requirement (M) Proposals must (M) confirm the use of the following software used by the County: 1. Microsoft Office 2013 e) Support, Maintenance and Training (M) Proposals must (M) provide for and explain how the online agenda management solution proposed would: 1. be supported by full product support, maintenance and training to IT and support staff of the County and Municipal Partner Entities for the duration of any potential contract for no additional charge beyond the all-inclusive annual fee; 2. include full software support of the proposed solution including troubleshooting of any related issues; and 3. provide for on-going software maintenance including software updates, bug fixes and any related issues. f) Strength of Support, Maintenance and Training (R) The strength of the support, maintenance and training (4e 1-3 above) provided for in the online agenda management solution proposals will be rated (R) pursuant to the Rated Requirements Evaluation Methodology set out in section 5b of this RFP. g) Additional Features List (M) Proposals must (M) provide a list of additional features offered which includes a description of and pricing of the additional features. h) Utility and Effectiveness of Additional Features List (R) The utility and cost effectiveness of the additional features included on the additional features list 5 P age
provided in online agenda management solution proposals will be rated (R) pursuant to the Rated Requirement Evaluation Criteria set out in section 5b of this RFP. i) RFP Response Form (Acknowledgement) (M) A scanned copy of an original endorsed RFP Response Form must be provided to Morgan Calvert with the proposal by the deadline for receipt of proposals (December 3, 2014, 4:00 p.m.), the original to be received by Morgan Calvert via regular lettermail following the submission of proposals. 5) EVALUATION METHODOLOGY a) Examination for Compliance with Mandatory (M) Requirements Proposals will first be examined for compliance with the mandatory requirements of this RFP. If a mandatory requirement is not provided in a proposal, that proposal will be considered non-complaint with this RFP and will be unable to be evaluated/scored under the Rated Requirements Evaluation Criteria (section 5b of this RFP) unless the doctrine of substantial compliance (as defined in this RFP) is deemed to apply by the County in its sole and absolute discretion. b) Rated (R) Requirements Evaluation Criteria The rated requirements of compliant proposals will be evaluated under the Rated Requirements Evaluation Criteria provided in the table below. The lowest or any proposal at all will not necessarily be accepted by the County. In the event a proposal is selected by staff as the basis for providing a recommendation for a proponent to be able to attempt to discuss a potential contract with County Council, the basis of such selection will be on the proposal which provides the best overall value as determined by the exercise of the Rated Requirements Evaluation Criteria. The County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals should such be deemed by the County in its sole discretion to be in its best interest. Should only one proposal be received, the County reserves the right to reject it. ITEM RATED REQUIREMENTS EVALUATION CRITERIA EVALUATION WEIGHTING 1. Strength of Mandatory Features: The extent to which and ease at which the specific characteristics of the mandatory features (4a 1-13 of this RFP) provided in proposals meet the County s needs 60% 2. Strength of Support, Maintenance and Training: The strength of the support, maintenance and training (4e 1-3 of this RFP) provided for in proposals 3. Price for Base Model Services 10% 4. Utility and Cost Effectiveness of Additional Features List 5% 5. Professionalism of Proposal 5% Total 100% 20% 6 P age
6) ADDITIONAL GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THIS RFP a) Independent Contractor Status of Proponent; Indemnity and Insurance Acknowledgement The Proponent acknowledges that in providing a proposal that it provides such as an independent contractor and for the sole purpose of providing a potential online agenda management service. Neither the Proponent nor any of its personnel is engaged as an employee, servant or agent of the County or any of its Municipal Partner Entities. As an independent contractor, the Proponent further acknowledges that in the event it was to enter into a potential contract with the County, it would be required in any such contract to: i. release, indemnify and hold completely harmless the County, each Municipal Partner Entity and their respective Councilors from any and all liability, including legal costs, which may be attributed to the negligence of the Proponent in its provision of services; ii. carry a Commercial General Liability Insurance policy on an occurrence basis in an amount and with appropriate policy coverage as determined to be appropriate by the County, which would include the County and its Municipal Partner Entities as additional insureds with respect to the Proponent s operations, acts and omissions in providing its services; and iii. carry Errors and Omissions coverage for potential errors and omissions arising from the provision of its services in an amount determined to be appropriate by the County which is underwritten by an insurer licensed to conduct business in the Province of Ontario and includes the County and its Municipal Client Entities as additional insureds such policy to be in force for each year of any potential contract and renewed for three (3) years post termination of any potential contract. b) Subcontracting and Assignment The Proponent acknowledges that in any potential contract with the County, no subcontracting or assignment of rights and obligations of the Proponent will be permitted without the written consent of the County. 7 P age
7) ADDITIONAL SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF THIS RFP a) Addenda The County reserves the right to revise this RFP up to the final date for the deadline for receipt of proposals (December 3, 2014, 4:00 p.m.). Any necessary addenda to this RFP will be posted on the County website (www.middlesex.ca) ONLY. The County at its discretion may or may not change the date for submissions depending on the date and extent of any Addenda. b) Question Period In the event any proponent has clarification question(s) on the requirements for the submission of a proposal pursuant to this RFP, such questions must be submitted by email to Morgan Calvert (mcalvert@middlesex.ca) on or before November 26, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. Answers to all clarification questions with respect to the submission of a proposal will be provided in an addendum which will be posted on the County website (www.middlesex.ca) ONLY, on November 27, 2014. Only answers requesting clarification on the requirements for the submission of a Proposal will be answered. c) Licensing In providing a proposal and endorsing the RFP Response Form (pg. 10 of this RFP), the Proponent does hereby irrevocably acknowledge and does hereby warrant that it is the either the legal licensor or software owner of all components of its proposed online agenda management solution or has been granted the legal right to offer license of all components and solutions contained in its online agenda management proposal. The Proponent in endorsing the RFP Response Form (pg. 10 of this RFP) does hereby release, indemnify, defend and hold completely harmless the County, each Municipal Partner Entity and their respective Councilors from any and all liability, including legal costs, from any actions with arise with respect to the intellectual property rights of any component(s) of the online agenda management solution proposed. The Proponent further acknowledges that in the event it is able to negotiate a contract with the County, it will be required to provide a written license to the County and its Municipal Partner Entities which allows for the complete use of all of the licensed components of its proposed online agenda management solution. d) Confidentiality The Proponent acknowledges that any and all information relating to the business and affairs of the County and its Municipal Partner Entities which are not a matter of public record are confidential and that in the event it is able to negotiate a contract with County Council, any agreement with the County will include a confidentiality clause requiring the strict protection of such confidentiality by the Proponent. 8 P age
e) Performance Security The Proponent acknowledges that in any potential contract for services with the County, Performance Security in the form of a certified cheque in the amount of 10% of the total contract value will be required to be provided by the Proponent to the County. No interest shall be payable on such security deposit. In the event any potential contract is performed without breach, such deposit would be returned following the completion of any potential contract to the satisfaction of the County. In the event of breach of any potential contract by the Proponent, such security deposit may be used by the County to mitigate some or all of the financial losses caused by the breach. 8) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS AND TIMELINE OF RFP EVENTS a) Submission of Proposals Please ensure that your Proposal: includes the name and contact particulars of the Proponent is submitted by e-mail to Morgan Calvert at mcalvert@middlesex.ca by December 3, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. provides for and addresses all mandatory (M) and rated (R) requirements of this RFP (see s. 4 of the RFP) includes a scanned copy of an original endorsed RFP Response Form (pg. 10 of this RFP), the original to be received by Morgan Calvert via regular lettermail following the submission of proposals. In the event you have any questions with respect to the requirements for the submission of a proposal pursuant to this RFP, you may contact: Morgan Calvert Middlesex County Manager of IT Email: mcalvert@middlesex.ca Phone: 519.434.7321 ext. 2239 b) Timeline of RFP Events Event Date Posting of RFP* * on County website (www.middlesex.ca) and MISA (www.misa-asim.ca) November 19 th, 2014 Final date for submission of clarification questions (by 12:00 p.m.) November 26 th, 2014 Posting of answers to clarification questions* *on the County website (www.middlesex.ca) ONLY November 27 th, 2014 Deadline for receipt of proposals (by 4:00 p.m.) December 3 rd, 2014 Evaluation of proposals December 4 th, 2014 9 P age
RFP RESPONSE FORM (ACKNOWLEDGEMENT) Request for Proposal RFP No. IT-2014-001 Online Meeting Management Solution I/We have read and understand this RFP, including all Addenda to this RFP, and hereby agree to all of the terms and conditions noted in this RFT and all Addenda thereto. Dated at, Ontario this day of, 2014. Name of Proponent (please print) Address Telephone Facsimile Email Per: Signature of Proponent (Name), (Position) I have authority to bind the (business type) 10 P age