Elections Ontario (or “EO”) is a non-partisan agency of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario working under the direction of the Chief Electoral Officer (“CEO”), an officer of the Legislative Assembly. EO is responsible for conducting general, by-elections and referenda in accordance with the provisions in the Elections Act and the administration of Election Finances Act.
The purpose of this RFP is to source a Vendor who will provide and deliver approximately 6,000 hard-shell Election Polling Kit Cases (with two types of removable inserts) to the EO technology warehouse in Mississauga, Ontario.
SAMPLE(S) (SIMILAR TO REQUESTED PRODUCT) TO BE PROVIDED WITH RFP RESPONSE. THE PROPONENT IS NOT EXPECTED TO PROVIDE A CUSTOMIZED INSERT WITH THE SAMPLE—A GENERIC INSERT IS SUFFICIENT.
BACKGROUND
Election Polling Kit Cases will be used to store laptops (called ePoll Books), paper, and other equipment that each technology-enabled polling location requires to run an election. The next provincial election is June 7, 2018, but the Kit Cases will be required before that date as described in the Section 4 Specifications in this RFP.
Note that not all polling locations in Ontario will be technology-enabled (thus will not require a kit). EO is currently finalizing this assessment, but the quantities provided in this RFP are expected to be generally accurate.
A polling location, if it has been designated to be technology-enabled, will typically receive one kit of equipment, called a Standard Kit. Additionally, some larger polling locations will also receive a second kit of only laptops, called a Secondary Laptop Kit. Because of the two different sets of kit contents (for a standard polling station versus a larger one), it is expected that two different types of removable inserts will also be required, but should the Vendor have an appropriate insert that is suitable for both kit types, then only one insert is required. For pricing purposes, a complete list of the kit contents is provided in Appendix H Proposed Kit Contents.
The Vendor is only required to provide and deliver the Kit Cases. Subsequent to Vendor delivery of the Kit Cases to the EO technology warehouse in Mississauga, the kit contents will be loaded into the kits by EO and stored until transported to Ontario sites. After the election, EO will be responsible for returning the kits to the warehouse.
EO will also be responsible for periodically opening the kits for audits, power checks, data clears, and so on, at least quarterly. The Kit Cases must facilitate easy access to the equipment for this purpose. The expectation is that the kits will be durable enough to be reusable for at least three provincial election cycles (10 – 12 years).
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this RFP is to solicit responses from qualified Vendors to provide and deliver approximately 6000 Election Polling Kit Cases (with two types of removable inserts) to a designated EO technology warehouse in Mississauga, Ontario. EO staff at the warehouse will unload and store the Kit Cases for future use. Should the Vendor have an appropriate insert that is suitable for both kit types, then only one insert is required.
The scope of this RFP is only to provide and deliver the Kit Cases (including two types of removable inserts). Subsequent to delivery of these Kit Cases at the technology warehouse, EO will be responsible for kitting the contents for elections and transporting the kits to designated locations.
SPECIFICATIONS
The scope of this RFP is:
Provide and deliver approximately 6000 Kit Cases with two types of removable inserts, as per the requirements in this RFP, on or before December 22, 2017 to EO technology warehouse in Mississauga, Ontario. Of these 6000 Kit Cases, approximately 20 Kit Cases will be required for EO’s Simulation Exercise, on or before October 15, 2017.
Submit Kit Cases to EO technology warehouse standard acceptance process upon delivery.
Manage the project according to standard project management principles, which will include creating a project plan in consultation with EO that includes proposed timelines, deliverables, milestones, and responsibility, status meetings, project close report, and single point of contact. Each phase, deliverable, and milestone must be signed off by EO in order to be considered complete.
Include with response typical risks and mitigations associated with a project such as this one. Risks can include but are not limited to: deadlines, defects and lost items, labour disputes, accidents, and vehicle breakdowns. Mitigations should include recovery procedures, timelines, and processes as required that will minimize disruption time to this project.
Provide a sample product(s) with the RFP response that is similar to requirements stated in this RFP, and in particular, Appendix G Requirements.
Out of Scope
The following is out of scope for the project:
Associated kit content activities, including sourcing contents, purchasing, and kitting.
Asset tagging or external labelling of Kit Cases.
Unloading of Kit Cases from the truck at the time of delivery to the EO technology warehouse in Mississauga.
All documentation required to submit a proposal to this RFQ is available from MERX.
