Request for Proposals SHAREPOINT CONSULTING SUPPORT Request for Proposals Number: RFP-2013.003 Issue date: May 10, 2013 Closing Time: Proposal must be received before 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time on May 31, 2013 THE ISLANDS TRUST CONTACT PERSON: All enquiries from proponents that are related to this Request for Proposals, including any requests for information and clarification, are to be directed, in writing only, to the following person who will respond if time permits. Information obtained from any other source is not official and should not be relied upon. Enquiries and any responses will be recorded and may be distributed to all Proponents at the option of the Islands Trust. Proponents may e-mail enquiries until May 27, 2013 at 12:00 noon to Cindy Shelest, Director of Administrative Services, Islands Trust, email: cshelest@islandstrust.bc.ca Proposals must not be sent by facsimile or email. Proposals are to be submitted to the closing location as follows: Clearly marked as RFP-2013.003 and contain ONE hardcopy and ONE electronic copy in Word format on CD, DVD or flash drive. Proposals must be delivered by hand, mail or courier to: Islands Trust Suite 200 1627 Fort Street Victoria, BC V8R 1H8 Attention: Cindy Shelest Proposal envelopes should be clearly marked with the name and address of the Proponent, the Request for Proposals number, and the project or program title. PROPONENT SECTION: For hard-copy proposals, a person authorized to sign on behalf of the Proponent must complete and sign the Proponent Section (below), leaving the rest of this page otherwise unaltered, and include the originally-signed and completed page with the first copy of the proposal. The enclosed proposal is submitted in response to the above-referenced Request for Proposals, including any addenda. Through submission of this proposal we agree to all of the terms and conditions of the Request for Proposals and agree that any inconsistent provisions in our proposal will be as if not written and do not exist. We have carefully read and examined the Request for Proposals, including the Administrative Section, and have conducted such other investigations as were prudent and reasonable in preparing the proposal. We agree to be bound by statements and representations made in our proposal. Signature of Authorized Representative: Legal Name of Proponent (and Doing Business As Name, if applicable): Printed Name of Authorized Representative: Address of Proponent: Title: Date: Authorized Representative phone, fax or email address (if available): Page 1
1. Definitions and Administrative Requirements Page 2 1. Definitions Throughout this Request for Proposals, the following definitions apply: a) Contract means the written agreement resulting from this Request for Proposals executed by the Islands Trust and the Contractor; b) Contractor means the successful Proponent to this Request for Proposals who enters into a written Contract with the Islands Trust; c) must, or mandatory means a requirement that must be met in order for a proposal to receive consideration; d) Proponent means an individual or a company that submits, or intends to submit, a proposal in response to this Request for Proposals; e) Request for Proposals or RFP means the process described in this document; and f) should or desirable means a requirement having a significant degree of importance to the objectives of the Request for Proposals. g) Islands Trust means corporate bodies created under the Islands Trust Act 2. Terms and Conditions The following terms and conditions will apply to this Request for Proposals. Submission of a proposal in response to this Request for Proposals indicates acceptance of all the terms that follow and that are included in any addenda issued by the Islands Trust. Provisions in proposals that contradict any of the terms of this Request for Proposals will be as if not written and do not exist. 3. Late Proposals Proposals will be marked with their receipt time at the closing location. Only complete proposals received and marked before closing time will be considered to have been received on time. Hard-copies of late proposals will not be accepted and will be returned to the Proponent. Electronic proposals that are received late will be marked late and will not be considered or evaluated. In the event of a dispute, the proposal receipt time as recorded at the closing location shall prevail whether accurate or not. 4. Eligibility a) Proposals will not be evaluated if the Proponent s current or past corporate or other interests may, in the Islands Trust opinion, give rise to a conflict of interest in connection with the project described in this Request for Proposals. This includes, but is not limited to, involvement by a Proponent in the preparation of this Request for Proposals. If a Proponent is in doubt as to whether there might be a conflict of interest, the Proponent should consult the Islands Trust prior to submitting a proposal. b) Proposals from not-for-profit agencies will be evaluated against the same criteria as those received from any other Proponents. 5. Evaluation Evaluation of proposals will be by a committee formed by the Islands Trust and may include employees and contractors of The Islands Trust. All personnel will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The Islands Trust s intent is to enter into a Contract with the Proponent who has the highest overall ranking. 6. Negotiation Delay If a written Contract cannot be negotiated within thirty days of notification of the successful Proponent the Islands Trust may, at its sole discretion at any time thereafter, terminate negotiations with that Proponent and either negotiate a Contract with the next qualified Proponent or choose to terminate the Request for Proposals process and not enter into a Contract with any of the Proponents. 7. Debriefing At the conclusion of the Request for Proposals process, all Proponents will be notified. Unsuccessful Proponents may request a debriefing meeting with the Islands Trust. 8. Alternative Solutions If alternative solutions are offered, please submit the information in the same format, as a separate proposal. 9. Changes to Proposals By submission of a clear and detailed written notice, the Proponent may amend or withdraw its proposal prior to the closing date and time. Upon closing time, all proposals become irrevocable. The Proponent will not change the wording of its proposal after closing and no words or comments will be added to the proposal unless requested by the Islands Trust for purposes of clarification. 10. Proponents Expenses Proponents are solely responsible for their own expenses in preparing a proposal and for subsequent negotiations with the Islands Trust, if any. If the Islands Trust elects to reject all proposals, the Islands Trust will not be liable to any Proponent for any claims, whether for costs or damages incurred by the Proponent in preparing the proposal, loss of anticipated profit in connection with any final Contract, or any other matter whatsoever. 11. Limitation of Damages Further to the preceding paragraph, the Proponent, by submitting a proposal, agrees that it will not claim damages, for whatever reason, relating to the Contract or in respect of the competitive process, in excess of an amount equivalent to the reasonable costs incurred by the Proponent in preparing its proposal and the Proponent, by submitting a proposal, waives any claim for loss of profits if no Contract is made with the Proponent. 12. Proposal Validity Proposals will be open for acceptance for at least 90 days after the closing date. 13. Firm Pricing Prices will be firm for the entire Contract period unless this Request for Proposals specifically states otherwise. 14. Currency and Taxes Prices quoted are to be: a) in Canadian dollars; b) inclusive of duty, where applicable; FOB destination, delivery charges included where applicable; and c) exclusive of GST and PST
Page 3 15. Completeness of Proposal By submission of a proposal the Proponent warrants that, if this Request for Proposals is to design, create or provide a system or manage a program, all components required to run the system or manage the program have been identified in the proposal or will be provided by the Contractor at no charge. 16. Sub-Contracting a) Using a sub-contractor (who should be clearly identified in the proposal) is acceptable. This includes a joint submission by two Proponents having no formal corporate links. However, in this case, one of these Proponents must be prepared to take overall responsibility for successful performance of the Contract and this should be clearly defined in the proposal. b) Sub-contracting to any firm or individual whose current or past corporate or other interests may, in the Islands Trust s opinion, give rise to a conflict of interest in connection with the project or program described in this Request for Proposals will not be permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, any firm or individual involved in the preparation of this Request for Proposals. If a Proponent is in doubt as to whether a proposed subcontractor gives rise to a conflict of interest, the Proponent should consult with the Islands Trust prior to submitting a proposal. c) Where applicable, the names of approved subcontractors listed in the proposal will be included in the Contract. No additional subcontractors will be added, nor other changes made, to this list in the Contract without the written consent of the Islands Trust. 17. Acceptance of Proposals a) This Request for Proposals should not be construed as an agreement to purchase goods or services. The Islands Trust is not bound to enter into a Contract with the Proponent who submits the lowest priced proposal or with any Proponent. Proposals will be assessed in light of the evaluation criteria. The Islands Trust will be under no obligation to receive further information, whether written or oral, from any Proponent. b) Neither acceptance of a proposal nor execution of a Contract will constitute approval of any activity or development contemplated in any proposal that requires any approval, permit or license pursuant to any federal, provincial, regional district or municipal statute, regulation or by-law. 18. Definition of Contract Notice in writing to a Proponent that it has been identified as the successful Proponent and the subsequent full execution of a written Contract will constitute a Contract for the goods or services, and no Proponent will acquire any legal or equitable rights or privileges relative to the goods or services until the occurrence of both such events. 19. Contract By submission of a proposal, the Proponent agrees that should its proposal be successful the Proponent will enter into a Contract with the Islands Trust. 20. Liability for Errors While the Islands Trust has used considerable efforts to ensure information in this Request for Proposals is accurate, the information contained in this Request for Proposals is supplied solely as a guideline for Proponents. The information is not guaranteed or warranted to be accurate by the Islands Trust, nor is it necessarily comprehensive or exhaustive. Nothing in this Request for Proposals is intended to relieve Proponents from forming their own opinions and conclusions with respect to the matters addressed in this Request for Proposals. 21. Modification of Terms The Islands Trust reserves the right to modify the terms of this Request for Proposals at any time in its sole discretion. This includes the right to cancel this Request for Proposals at any time prior to entering into a Contract with the successful Proponent. 22. Ownership of Proposals All proposals submitted to the Islands Trust become the property of the Islands Trust. They will be received and held in confidence by the Islands Trust, subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and this Request for Proposals. 23. Use of Request for Proposals Any portion of this document, or any information supplied by the Islands Trust in relation to this Request for Proposals may not be used or disclosed, for any purpose other than for the submission of proposals. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, by submission of a proposal the Proponent agrees to hold in confidence all information supplied by the Islands Trust in relation to this Request for Proposals. 24. Reciprocity The Islands Trust may consider and evaluate any proposals from other jurisdictions on the same basis that the Islands Trust purchasing authorities in those jurisdictions would treat a similar proposal from a British Columbia supplier. 25. No Lobbying Proponents must not attempt to communicate directly or indirectly with any employee, contractor or representative of the Islands Trust, including the evaluation committee and any elected officials of the Islands Trust, or with members of the public or the media, about the project described in this Request for Proposals or otherwise in respect of the Request for Proposals, other than as expressly directed or permitted by the Islands Trust. 26. Collection and Use of Personal Information Proponents are solely responsible for familiarizing themselves, and ensuring that they comply, with the laws applicable to the collection and dissemination of information, including resumes and other personal information concerning employees and employees of any subcontractors. If this RFP requires Proponents to provide the Islands Trust with personal information of employees who have been included as resources in response to this RFP, Proponents will ensure that they have obtained written consent from each of those employees before forwarding such personal information to the Islands Trust.. Such written consents are to specify that the personal information may be forwarded to the Islands Trust for the purposes of responding to this RFP and use by the Islands Trust for the purposes set out in the RFP. The Islands Trust may, at any time, request the original consents or copies of the original consents from Proponents, and upon such request being made, Proponents will immediately supply such originals or copies to the Islands Trust. 27. Confidentiality of Information This RFP is the property of the Islands Trust and is not to be copied or distributed without prior approval of The Island Trust. Any information acquired about the Islands Trust by a proponent during this process must not be disclosed unless authorized by the Island Trust, and this obligation will survive the termination of this RFP process. The awarding of any contract or reaching of any agreement will not permit any proponent to advertise a relationship with The Island Trust without The Island Trusts prior authorization.
2. Organization Overview 2.1. The Islands Trust The Trust Area consists of 13 major islands and more than 450 smaller islands between the BC Mainland and southern Vancouver Island, including Howe Sound and as far north as Comox. The population of the area is approximately 25,000. The Islands Trust Act established the Islands Trust in 1974 and sets out its mandate as follows: "To preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the trust area and of British Columbia generally, in cooperation with municipalities, regional districts, improvement districts, other persons and organizations and the government of British Columbia." The Islands Trust is a federation of thirteen local government bodies. Within the Islands Trust federation, there are an additional 3 corporate bodies, an executive committee and several sub-committees. Within the broader Islands Trust Area there are 26 elected trustees serving on 13 local trust committees and one island municipality, all of whom serve on Trust Council, which meets quarterly to address regional issues. Each Local Trust Committee is an incorporated, special purpose authority with statutory responsibility for planning and regulating land use within its local trust area. All other municipal services (e.g. water, sewer, garbage, roads) are provided by Regional Districts. The Islands Trust website is located at: http://www.islandstrust.bc.ca/ Page 4
2.2. The Islands Trust Fund The Islands Trust Act also created the Islands Trust Fund as a land trust to carry out the object of the Islands Trust in the Gulf and Howe Sound Islands. The Islands Trust Fund is governed by the Islands Trust Fund Board, which is a separate legal entity from Trust Council. Currently focused on the preservation of significant natural areas, the Islands Trust Fund carries out the object of the Islands Trust through fundraising, conservation planning and protection of tracts of land as nature reserves or with conservation covenants. It currently owns 20 properties and holds conservation covenants on 60 properties. The Islands Trust Fund also provides community education and outreach directly to landowners and through collaboration with conservation partners. Note: All references to The Islands Trust in this RFP document applies to both the Islands Trust and the Islands Trust Fund, except where specified. The Islands Trust Fund website is located at: http://www.islandstrustfund.bc.ca/ 3. Project Overview Page 5 3.1. Project Goals and Objectives The Islands Trust currently saves electronic files on a Local Area Network connected to three geographically separate offices. The three offices are located in Victoria, Salt Spring Island and Gabriola Island, and total approximately 50 staff. While there is some high-level structure imposed on the system, the actual folder location and naming conventions are ad hoc. The organization is planning to transition to using SharePoint as the primary portal for all electronic documents. Because we have three geographically separated offices and various departments, we are interested in using SharePoint to further collaboration between the departments and offices. The structure of SharePoint in the organization should reflect this approach. The Islands Trust has installed SharePoint Foundation in support of a new meeting management software program called escribe. The organization plans to install a new SharePoint Enterprise Server this fiscal year (which began April 1, 2013). Our preliminary investigations of SharePoint have highlighted a number of areas in which this technology would either fill a need or support improved service delivery, including departmental intranets. We expect that as this technology is deployed demand will increase dramatically. Desired features include discussion groups, blogs, wikis, documentation libraries, shared calendars, collaborative document editing and flexible permissions structures. Most departments currently make extensive use of shares hosted on a centralized file server. It is our expectation that these shares would be replaced with department intranets. The first step is a need to design the SharePoint team sites in such a way as to support the organizational needs and to establish naming conventions and protocols to ensure durability of the platform as more features are added.
We expect that the recommended SharePoint sites will be accessible via internet in a manner that staff and trustees can readily access their intranets from personal laptops connected through a wireless network. We also expect SharePoint to provide a forms management process. Most forms in Islands Trust are developed in an out-dated Applications site or printed, completed and authorized manually. We expect automation of these processes within a SharePoint environment will provide significant benefit to the organization. 3.2. Scope of Work Requirements analysis: - Meet with management and selected staff and Trustees to determine the overall needs as they relate to potential SharePoint Server features. Some initial work has been completed in this area and this information will be provided to the successful proponent. - Potential value-add of SharePoint components/applications analysis of the potential for added value to the organization through the implementation of components or development of solutions to specific problems through implementation of SharePoint server-based solutions. Deliverables: - Develop the roadmap for an integrated SharePoint server environment, which allows teams in multiple locations and working in the field to fully access their information needs in order to support collaborative activities. - Recommendations for future deployment of SharePoint server features and applications. This should include consideration of timelines and resource requirements. - Consideration of current staff capacity and potential gaps in our ability to support a SharePoint server infrastructure. - Identify training requirements in order for existing staff to effectively support a SharePoint server infrastructure. 3.3. Vendor Experience Requirements Proponents must have demonstrated experiences in SharePoint site development and implementation. Each proposal should include: a. Executive Summary of proponent s capabilities, proposed solutions and costs. b. Company information about the proponent organization; experience in the provision of consulting services; experience in developing and supporting SharePoint sites; size of the organization; head office locations and; number of years in business. Page 6
c. The methodology that the proponent will apply to meeting the objectives of the project. This should include a general overview of the proponent s approach to consulting engagements as well as specifics on the approach to this project. d. A list of key personnel who will be directly engaged in this project, their role and their relevant credentials and experience. e. References from at least three (3) past or current clients (within the past 5 years) that Islands Trust may contact for which the proponent has provided services of a similar type and magnitude; including contact name, position, name of organization, email and telephone number. 3.4. Cost Requirements The RFP response must clearly indicate the all-inclusive price for undertaking the work as described in your proposal. Significant components of the project should be identified along with cost components associated with each (including any disbursements, travel and all other incidental costs that will be charged). Hourly rate hourly rates specific to key personnel assigned to this project must be identified. 3.5. Current IT Infrastructure The technical solution must be accommodated using existing Islands Trust technical infrastructure. 3.5.1. Technical Architecture All application servers are running within a V-Sphere 5.0 Virtual Server environment. All servers and network storage are located within a Dell PowerVault storage area network (SAN). Daily, weekly and monthly backups are performed on all applications and data. This is currently performed using the appropriate Symantec backup agents and a Dell PowerVault tape library. 3.5.2. Website Please see our Website located at www.islandstrust.bc.ca 3.5.3. Servers We are planning on running the SharePoint application on a virtual MS Server 2008 R2. Page 7 3.5.4. Desktops We are running Windows 7 Professional on all employee desktop computers. 3.5.5. Laptops We are running Windows 7 Professional on all employee laptop computers. 3.5.6. Network We have 3 office locations Victoria, Salt Spring and Gabriola Island. The server and storage farm is located in the Victoria office. All offices have direct internet access. In addition we have a dedicated Intranet connecting the offices. The new SharePoint site(s) will be located in the
Victoria office, but must be accessible to all employees both within the office Intranet as well as securely via the Internet. 3.5.7. Software (including Word, escribe, MS Office) The Office 2010 Standard package is used by all employees. We currently have a major 3 rd party SharePoint application escribe Meeting Management Software. This will be maintained as a separate SharePoint environment on a separate server. 3.5.8. SharePoint version We are currently in the evaluation phase to determine whether to use SharePoint Enterprise 2010 or 2013. We have MS SQL Server 2008 as the primary database for SharePoint. The decision on which version of SharePoint we will use will be made prior to the award of the service contract. As such expertise and understanding of the differences as well as competency in the development of both environments will be essential for the successful party. 4. Proposed Timeline for RFP Process: Activity Completion Date Issue RFP May 10, 2013 RFP Closing May 31, 2013 RFP Evaluation June 14, 2013 Presentations by top proponents June 17-21, 2013 Award of Contract to Successful proponent June 22, 2013 5. RFP Response Outline Proposals should be clearly written, providing a straightforward, concise description of the proponent s ability to meet the requirements of the RFP. The following format, sequence, and instructions should be followed in order to provide consistency in proponent response and ensure each proposal receives full consideration. All pages should be consecutively numbered. Page 8 a) An unaltered and completed Request for Proposals cover page (page one of this document), including Proponent Section as per instructions; b) Table of contents including page numbers; The body of the proposal including a detailed work plan, the methodology to be followed and the timeline for completing the deliverables. Proponents must demonstrate in their proposal that they have a clear understanding of the Islands Trust s needs. Proponents need to articulate their proposal, intentions and expectations indicating how they will fulfil the requirements of the RFP and what services they will provide; c) A detailed breakdown of all costs and number of hours associated with completion of the deliverables, including travel expenses and research. Proponents must outline the cost of all deliverables as indicated in Section 3.2. Please outline any assumptions used in setting the price; d) Details of vendor experience and qualifications as outlined in Section 3.3.
6. Evaluation This section details all of the mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated. Proponents should ensure that they fully respond to all criteria in order to receive full consideration during evaluation. 6.1. Mandatory Criteria Proposals not clearly demonstrating that they meet the following mandatory criteria will be excluded from further consideration during the evaluation process: A. The proposal must be received at the closing location before the specified closing date and time. B. The proposal must be in English and must not be sent by facsimile or e-mail. C. One hard copy of the proposal and one electronic PDF copy on CD, DVD or flash drive must be submitted. D. One unaltered, completed Request for Proposal cover page including an originallysigned Proponent Section. The person signing the form must be an authorized signatory for the company. This form is page one of this proposal package. 6.2. Evaluation Criteria Proponents who have satisfied all the Mandatory Criteria listed in Section 6.1 will be evaluated against the following criteria: Your proposal will be reviewed for completeness, suitability and match to requirements. Proposal will be evaluated and ranked based on the information provided within the proposal. The following scoring system will be utilized to evaluate all submissions. Points will be assigned for each criteria based on the information provided in the proposal. Page 9 Criterion Max. Points Proposed fees/ Costs 30 Vendor Experience demonstrated experience with Sharepoint site design, 25 development and implementation. Project Approach and understanding demonstrates thorough 25 comprehension of the Islands Trust identified project needs and requirements and offers an organised and systematic approach. References relevant examples of recent work performing services of 20 similar size and complexity. TOTAL 100
6.3. Presentation Islands Trust may shortlist one or more of the highest scoring written proposals and request them to provide a one hour presentation to the Islands Trust with respect to their proposal. The presentations will be held during the week of June 17-21, 2013. Islands Trust will provide 4 working days notice of the presentation date and time to the shortlisted proponents. This would be an opportunity for the proponent to support and clarify the written proposal. This presentation will not be an opportunity for Proponents to provide new information. Islands Trust may also use the presentation as an opportunity to validate any statements made in the written proposal. Any inaccuracies may be cause for immediate rejection of the proposal. Presentation Criterion Weight Proposal suitability with organizational goals identified 25 Page 10