The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) is responsible for the coordination of language-learning programs and language-exchange programs at the pan-Canadian level. These programs were created to encourage individuals to learn both of Canada’s official languages (English and French) and to discover the rich cultures associated with them.
The objective of the RFP is to select a Proponent with proven experience to develop new modules/features in the database (i.e., design, build, test, launch, and facilitate integration with the existing platforms, including the website and mobile app), optimize its performance, and fix bugs that interfere with its day-to-day functioning. The Proponent must have a minimum of five (5) years’ experience in similar work with Oracle Database. The services will be contracted from June 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, with options for an additional four (4) years of maintenance services, as described at the discretion of CCMEC.
The Proponent must provide the services of IT architecture and development specialists for work related to the OLP-PLO database and associated platforms, including, but not limited to, the OLP-PLO mobile app and website APIs in accordance with market best practices, and, on an as-needed basis, for research work on OLP-PLO database and system architecture, development tools and methodologies, and quality assurance practices for the maintenance and evolution of the OLP-PLO data systems, with the goal of reliably providing and continuously enhancing its services (delivery of the Odyssey, Explore, and Destination Clic programs to all interested parties).
During regular working hours, the Proponent must provide support and carry out the work as per the contract for completion of approved tasks according to established priorities, all under the supervision of OLP-PLO internal resources.
Throughout the agreement, the Proponent will provide for the following:
- Services of an IT Specialist to conduct maintenance of the database and assist in analyzing, defining, and planning related work (business analysis)
- Project management services to ensure successful engagement with the client and third parties, stewardship of the allotted budget, appropriate allocation of programming resources, and timely implementation of agreed-upon deliverables
- Development and implementation of new features and maintenance thereof once delivered to production
- Investigation of problems encountered and debugging to resolve them
- Documentation of changes brought to the system and training of OLP-PLO staff
- Evaluation of security patches and anomalies to be addressed, and development of timely implementation plan
- Suggestion and drafting of rules, standards, and policies, where applicable, according to best practices
The Services’ key objectives are:
- Continuous operation of the database – Conduct maintenance to prevent unavailability of the database;
- Debugging – Fix bugs in a timely manner as agreed upon in the SLA (see General Requirements);
- Delivery of planned changes – Deliver enhancements with required new modules/features;
- Improvement of the application experience – Facilitate the application process by making it easier for applicants to upload information and required documents and to receive immediate status updates from the OLP-PLO database via a mobile app and website;
- Facilitation of communication – Send reminders, updates, and marketing messages to specific program candidates or participants using ad hoc notifications;
- Improvement of reports – Develop new reports to help OL users with required information from the database and statistics for program management.
For OLP-PLO, the ultimate outcome is a better user experience with the database system from enrolment to completion of a program, thus encouraging an annual increase in the number of candidates who:
- apply to each official languages program; and
- remain until program completion (retention).
