Basic Information

Reference Number

0000258563

Issuing Organization

University of Ottawa

Owner Organization

University of Ottawa

Solicitation Type

RFI - Request for Information (Informal)

Solicitation Number

2023010RES-RFI

Title

Complete Research Life Cycle Solution

Source ID

PU.AC.ON.11752.C110155

Agreement Types

Broader Public Sector (BPS)

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement(CETA)

Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)

Details

Location

Canada, Ontario, Ottawa

Delivery Point

University of Ottawa

Purchase Type

Duration: 5 years
Option: 5

Description

Introduction

This Request for Information (“RFI”) is issued by the University of Ottawa (the “University”) for the purposes of gathering information about the marketplace to assist in the determination of future purchasing options or requirements for the implementation of a Research Life Cycle Management Solution to support our research processes and activities. This would include Grants and Contracts Management along with ethics compliance handling. Participation in this RFI is completely optional and is not a requirement to participate in a potential future RFP.

Background

Founded in 1848, the University of Ottawa is the largest French-English bilingual university in the world and ranks among Canada’s top 10 research universities.

The University of Ottawa’s current Research Lifecycle, in particular the Pre-Award phase, includes many manual processes and is an area in much need of standardization across the University. Most of the work done by Research teams, in preparation of a grant or contract is done manually. Activities such as grant matching, developing proposals, contracts, reviews, approvals, and signatures are mostly done by emails. Many of the activities require cycles of reviews in the development of proposals, causing delays and inefficiencies. For many Research-intensive Universities, this is an area where automated processes help to reduce the administrative burdens and overhead for Researchers, Research Facilitators and Research Management Services and other supporting research services.

The University is looking to implement an end-to-end comprehensive solution for the management of research administrative activities. This will encompass Pre-Award and Post-Award activities within the University’s Research Lifecycle, including Grant and Contract Management, Ethics Management (human and animal, including Animal Research Laboratory Management), using an integrated and accessible platform. The goal of this implementation is to have better follow-ups and control over research processes, to maximize successful proposal outcomes.

Core functionality

The University would expect the following core functionalities in a Research Life Cycle Management Solution, a complete platform that supports Research Administration processes including Grants and Contracts Management workflows for research activities. The solution must encompass the following areas:

Grants Management
Contracts Management
Ethics compliance (submission, reviews & approvals):
- Human ethics
- Animal ethics and Research Laboratory Management
Collaboration:
- Document Management / repository
- Workflow management and Status Tracking
- e-Signature and approvals
Business Intelligence / reporting

Key Considerations

The following are key considerations to provide Respondents with a framework for understanding the University’s requirements:

The University anticipates an implementation by phases. The solution must be adaptable/scalable to allow us to implement in this fashion.
The University is a bilingual institution, French and English, with all students and staff having the right to use university resources in the language of their choice. The solution must support an English and French interface for Researchers with the ability to toggle between the two languages.
The solution needs to be a SaaS solution.
The University is committed to maintaining and protecting the integrity of personal and confidential information. The solution must meet our Access to Information and Protection of Privacy policy (see Policy 90)
The solution needs to meet accessibility regulations as defined by Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
API support is expected for connecting to the University systems (e.g. Workday, Microsoft Azure, PeopleSoft Campus Solution, webservices). Our standard is REST Api (Json or XML) using oAuth 2.0.
Data migration or import from our existing research applications is expected (e.g. eReviews, eAwards, Topaz, Minuet for contract management).

Dates

Publication

2023/10/30 02:12:32 PM EDT

Bid Intent

Not Available

Questions are submitted online

Closing Date

2023/11/06 03:00:00 PM EST

Contact Information

Owen Bouley

613-562-5800 ext. 3966

obouley@uottawa.ca

Buyer Preferences, Guidelines & Requirements

General Requirements

- Certification/Training

- License Required

- Training Required

Bid Submission Process

Bid Submission Type

Electronic Bid Submission

Pricing

Lump sum

Additional Bidding Instructions

Respondents are asked to submit, by email, 1 electronic copy, in PDF, of a completed and signed Respondent Submission Form (Appendix A) by the Submission Deadline to the following RFI Contact:

Owen Bouley
Procurement Officer | Procurement Services
University of Ottawa
Email: obouley@uottawa.ca

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