Contents

1. INTRODUCTION
2. BACKGROUND
3. NO CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
5. PROJECT SCOPE
6. REQUIRED PROJECT DELIVERABLES
7. PRICING
8. INVOICING AND PAYMENT
9. BUDGET
10. RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPONENT
11. ACCURACY OF INFORMATION
12. TIMELINES
13. CONFIDENTIALITY AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
14. INDEMNIFICATION
15. INSURANCE
16. LIMITATION OF DAMAGES
17. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
18. SUB-CONTRACTING
19. MODIFICATION
20. CANCELLATION
21. EVALUATION AND AWARD
22. ENQUIRIES
23. OWNERSHIP OF PROPOSALS APPENDIX 1

1. INTRODUCTION

The Town of View Royal (the “Town”) is seeking a qualified consultant to develop an information technology (“IT”) Strategic Plan.

This Strategic Plan will document the steps to be taken over the next five years (2015-2019) in IT planning, procuring, implementing, and managing current and future technology investments and resources for the Town.

The consultant should have experience and expertise in developing Strategic IT Plans. The consultant should be free of any obligations or interests which may conflict or affect their ability to perform and have the capacity to provide this service.

2. BACKGROUND

The Town of View Royal employs 33 full-time employees and 5 part-time employees. The Town’s facilities include the Public Works and Parks Complex located on the Municipal Hall property at 45 View Royal Ave and the View Royal Fire and Rescue Department located two minutes from Municipal Hall at 280 Island Highway. A new Public Safety Building is under construction at 333 Island Highway, which will replace the current Fire Hall in the fall of 2014.

A part-time contractor has been providing IT support to the Town. This consultant is on site at least one day a week and is available through email during any other time.

The Town utilizes 6 physical servers and 7 virtual servers. These servers run on either Microsoft Windows Server 2008 or Server 2012 operating systems. We have 4 laptops and approximately 39 workstations (11 of these are located at the Fire Hall). All workstations and laptops run on either XP or Windows 7 operating systems; office 2010 is installed on these computers. The Town also owns 4 iPads.

The Town currently uses the following systems:

• Financial records: Vadim iCity Enterprise. Modules include General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cash Receipting, Purchase Orders, Property Tax, Business Licenses and Building Permits.
• Payroll: Vadim iCity Enterprise
• Capital Assets: CityWide

The network infrastructure consists of fibre optic cable connecting the Town Hall to the current Fire Hall. Computers which will be located at the new Public Safety Building will connect to servers at the Town Hall by using a virtual private network (VPN).

There are approximately 28 Avaya IP office telephones at the Town Hall and 13 phones at the Fire Hall. The phones at the Fire Hall are on a Nortel network. Telus is the service provider for all phones.

3. NO CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

3.1. Though the Town fully intends at this time to proceed through the RFP, in order to select the services, the Town is under no obligation to proceed to an agreement, or any other stage. The receipt by the Town of any information (including any submissions, ideas, models or other materials communicated or exhibited by any intended proponent, or on its behalf) shall not impose any obligations on the Town. There is no guarantee by the Town, its officers, employees or managers, that the process initiated by the issuance of this RFP will continue, or that this RFP process or any RFP process will result in an agreement with the Town for the purchase of the service or project.

4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

4.1. Proposals must be returned in a sealed envelope clearly marked “Town of View Royal Information Technology Strategic Plan (2015-2019)”, addressed to Town of View Royal, 45 View Royal Avenue, Victoria, BC, V9B 1A6.

4.2. Proposals must be received at 45 View Royal Ave no later than 4:30 p.m. Victoria Time, Wednesday, October 1, 2014.

4.3. Proposals received and not conforming to Items 4.1 and 4.2, above, will be returned (unopened) to proponents(s) without consideration.

4.4. The Town does not accept proposals received via our facsimile machine or e-mail.

4.5. Proposals, rather than tenders, have been requested in order to afford proponents a more flexible opportunity to employ their expertise and innovation, and thereby satisfy the Town’s needs in a more cost-effective manner.

4.6. Your proposal should clearly show your complete company name, nearest location to the Town of View Royal, and name and telephone number of primary contact person.

4.7. All proposals submitted should include three (3) copies in an 8 ½ x 11-inch format. Proposal submissions must be suitable for black and white photocopying.

4.8. Proponents are solely responsible for any costs or expenses related to the preparation and submission of proposals.

4.9. No proponent may withdraw their proposal for a period of ninety (90) days after the actual date of closing.

4.10. All proposal submissions, after closing time and date, become the property of the Town.

4.11. This Request for Proposal and any subsequent contracts resulting from this Request for Proposal shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of British Columbia.

4.12. A minimum of three references, preferably local government or related agencies, for which your company has provided similar services within the last five years. Please provide organization name, address, contact name, telephone and fax number, client profile for each.

4.13. A work plan and methods to complete the work.

4.14. Anticipated work schedule.

4.15. Any applicable reference materials.

4.16. Company work experience in the Information Systems Planning industry.

4.17. Qualifications of the individual(s) assigned to the project.

4.18. Proof of active WorkSafe BC Registration by the successful proponent.

5. PROJECT SCOPE

The Town is looking for a strategic plan which shall include, but not limited to, a detailed analysis of the following:

5.1. Current infrastructure, staffing, funding, applications, business systems, projects, and processes,

5.2. Potential staff phone interviews if required, including end users, department heads, and other stakeholders,

5.3. Identification, prioritization, and cost analysis of projects that should be undertaken as part of the IT function over the next five years,

5.4. A recommendation regarding the level of IT services and whether the services should be conducted in-house or contracted,

5.5. Analysis of GIS system needs and software options,

5.6. Practical and relevant industry standard disaster recovery practices and business continuity plans,

5.7. Identification of needs to accommodate current and future technology requirements such as data storage and management, legal requirements, security requirements,

5.8. Identify possible revenue streams for the Town through IT infrastructure, and

5.9. Identification of staff training requirements for new software and business processes.

6. REQUIRED PROJECT DELIVERABLES

6.1. High level summary to be presented to the Town Council

6.2. Executive summary to be presented to the Senior Management Team

6.3. A five year strategic plan addressing the topics outlined in this RFP and any others identified in the process of stakeholder discussions

6.4. The strategic plan will include, but is not limited to:

• A comprehensive assessment of current conditions,
• Recommended actions,
• Cost estimates,
• Staffing recommendations,
• Prioritization of actions,
• Scalability of recommendations depending on available funding by the Town,
• Implementation plan, including a strategy on how to implement the recommendations over the five year period to lesson impact to taxpayers,
• A tactical project plan outlining projects by priority that includes costs, both initial and ongoing, staff required for both initial implementation and sustainable management and perceived benefits and risk of both successful implementation and no implementation at all,
• Detailed IT infrastructure plan and design,
• Monthly status report on progress, activities, issues and compliance with schedule, and
• Comprehensive documentation of discovery and recommendations.

7. PRICING

7.1. Your proposal should contain all pricing information relative to performing the services at described in this RFP. The total all-inclusive maximum price bid is to contain all direct and indirect costs including all out-of-pocket expenses. You should also include a breakdown of the hourly charge-out rates of key personnel and support staff and the work they are performing (which must include labour and material costs, applicable taxes, expenses/disbursements and any other charges).

7.2. All pricing submitted must be in Canadian funds.

7.3. Your proposal should also identify the hourly charge-out rates for personnel and support staff for performing any additional services that may be requested.

7.4. The works outlined in the attached Terms of Reference are the minimum requirements to be addressed. Proponents may also provide separate pricing on additional requirements they feel would benefit the Town in meeting its goals.

8. INVOICING AND PAYMENT

8.1. All invoices paid as a result of this Request for Proposal will be paid as per the Towns standard payment terms Net 30 Days`

9. BUDGET

9.1. The Town has established a budget of $40,000.00 for completion of this work, which is inclusive of all costs, including all applicable taxes.

10. RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPONENT

10.1. Each proponent is responsible for informing themselves as to the contents and requirements of this RFP. Each proponent is solely responsible to ensure that they have obtained and considered all information necessary to understand the requirements of the RFP and to prepare and submit their proposal. This Town will not be responsible for any expense incurred by a proponent as a result of any inaccuracy or incompleteness in this RFP, or as a result of any misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the terms of this RFP on the part of any proponent.

11. ACCURACY OF INFORMATION

11.1. The Town makes no representation or warranty; either expressly or implied, with respect to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained or referred to in this RFP.

12. TIMELINES

12.1. The Town’s timeline is for the contractor to complete the Scope of Work and submit the final document no later than December 31, 2014. Contracts shall indicate if they cannot meet this timeline in their proposal.

13. CONFIDENTIALITY AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

13.1. Your proposal should clearly identify any information that is considered to be of confidential or proprietary information (the “Confidential Information”).

13.2. Proponents should be aware that the Town is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA). A proponent may stipulate in their proposal that portions of the proposal contain confidential information and are supplied to the Town in confidence. However, under FOIPPA, the Town may nevertheless be obligated to disclose all of part of a proposal pursuant to a request made under that Act, even if the proponent has stipulated that part of the proposal is supplied in confidence. The proponent should review section 21 and other provisions of FOIPPA in order to gain a better understanding of the Town’s disclosure responsibilities under this Act.

14. INDEMNIFICATION

14.1. In carrying out these works the contractor or sub- contractor(s) will act as an independent contractor(s) and must agree to keep the Town indemnified against any and all claims, actions or demands that may be brought, made or arise in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by its' employees who shall be and remain at all times and for all purposes, the servants or employees of the contractor or sub- contractor(s).

15. INSURANCE

15.1. The Town contractor shall, at their own expense, provide and maintain to the Town until the completion of the agreement the insurance documents as referred to in Appendix 1.

16. LIMITATION OF DAMAGES

16.1. 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.

17. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

17.1. Proponents must supply an assurance that they are not in a position that may be perceived as a conflict of interest.

18. SUB-CONTRACTING

18.1. The Town will not permit sub-contracting or assignment of the work, unless prior approval in writing has been received from the Town’s Director of Finance or designate.

19. MODIFICATION

19.1. The Town reserves the right to modify the terms of this RFP at any time in its sole discretion.

20. CANCELLATION

20.1. The Town reserves the right to cancel any contract resulting from this Request for Proposal with thirty (30) days written notice of cancellation. In the event of cancellation, the contractor will have no right of action against the Town for damages; however, cancellation would not, in any manner, limit the Town's right to bring action against the contractor for damages for breach of contract.

20.2. If the contractor is in default in the performance of any of its material obligations set forth in the agreement, then the Town may, by written Notice to the contractor require such default to be corrected. If within 15 days after receipt of the Notice the default has not been corrected or reasonable steps to correct the default have not been taken, the Town, without limiting any other right it may have, may immediately terminate this agreement and must pay the contractor for the services rendered and disbursements incurred by the contractor to the date of termination, less any amounts necessary to compensate the Town for damages or costs incurred by the Town or by any person employed by or on behalf of the Town arising from the contractor’s default.

21. EVALUATION AND AWARD

21.1. An evaluation committee made up of Town staff will be reviewing proposal submissions. The Town reserves the right to accept any or none of the proposals submitted and will evaluate proposals based on the best value and not necessarily the lowest cost.

21.2. The Town will evaluate Proposals based upon, but not limited to, the following:

• Quality of the proposal,
• Proponent’s experience,
• Work plan and schedule,
• Costs,
• Reference checks, and
• Proponent’s innovative ideas

21.3. The Town reserves the right to conduct pre-selection meetings with proponents. The Town further reserves the right to conduct post-selection meetings in order to correct, change or adapt the selected proposal to the wishes of the selection committee.

21.4. The proponent acknowledges that the Town shall have the right to reject any and all proposals for any reason or to accept any Proposal which the Town in its sole unrestricted discretion deems most advantageous to itself. The proponent acknowledges that the Town may rely upon criteria which the Town deems relevant even though such criteria may not have been disclosed to the proponent. By submitting a proposal, the proponent acknowledges the Town’s right under this clause and absolutely waives any right of action against the Town for the Town’s failure to accept the proponent’s proposal whether or not such right of action arises in contract, negligence, bad faith or any other cause of action.

21.5. Acceptance of any proposal may be subject to budgetary considerations and available funding.

21.6. The lowest or any proposal will not necessarily be accepted.

22. ENQUIRIES

22.1. All enquiries regarding this Request for Proposal are to be directed, in writing, to the following person. Information obtained from any other source should not be relied upon. Enquires and responses will be recorded and the Town may choose to distribute the same to all proponents. Questions will be answered if time permits.

Town of View Royal Director of Finance 45 View Royal Ave Victoria, BC V9B 1A6

Jeannie Beauchamp, Director of Finance Tel: (250) 479-6800 Email: finance@viewroyal.ca

The successful proponent will elect a single point of contact to communicate with the Town’s project contact, Jeannie Beauchamp, Director of Finance (or designated alternate representative).

23. OWNERSHIP OF PROPOSALS

23.1. All Proposals and subsequent information materials shall become the property of the Town of View Royal after the closing date and time and will not be returned. The Town will have exclusive rights to copy, publish and re-use all material. The Proposals will be held in confidence by the Town, subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This Request for Proposals and all associated documentation is the property of the Town of View Royal and shall not be copied or distributed without the prior written approval of the Town.

APPENDIX 1

SELECTED AGREEMENT TERMS – INSURANCE

The contractor shall, at their own expense, provide and maintain until the completion of the works the following insurance in a form acceptable to the Town with an insurer licensed in British Columbia:

• Commercial General Liability Insurance with a limit of not less than $2,000,000 inclusive per occurrence for bodily injury (including death), and damage to property including loss of use thereof. Such insurance shall include coverage from broad form property damage, contractual liability, completed operations and product liability. Commercial General Liability policies shall provide that no cancellation or lapse of or material alteration in the policy shall become effective until THIRTY (30) days after written notice of such cancellation, lapse or alteration has been given to the Town.

Any deductible amounts in the foregoing insurance which are payable by the policyholder shall be in an amount acceptable to the Town.

The contractor shall provide the Town with a certificate of certificates of insurance as evidence that such insurance is in the force including evidence of any insurance renewal of policy or policies. Every certificate or certificates of insurance shall include certification by the insurer that the certificate of insurance specifically conforms to all of the provisions required herein.

Maintenance of such insurance and the performance by the Contract of the obligation under this clause shall not relieve the contractor of liability under the indemnify provisions set forth herein.