1-Case Management System RFP -RQ031111.pdf

City of Columbus Page 1 of 38 Case Management System – RFQ031111

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Solicitation Number:

RFQ031111

Date Issued:

September 2, 2025

The City of Columbus, Department of Public Safety requests proposals for:

(Case Management System)

RFP Issued: September 2, 2025 @ 4:00 PM

Written Questions Due: September 15, 2025 @ 3:00 PM

Vendor Conference: September 15, 2025 @ 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Register for Vendor Conference here:

https://cocmeetings.webex.com/weblink/register/r03dec62eea8 345b09d1bbaaa7208321d

Responses to Questions: September 22, 2025 @ 4:00 PM

Proposals Due: October 6, 2025 @ 4:00 PM

Award: November 3, 2025

Work Begins: December 2025

Full Implementation by: June 2026

Procurement Portal: https://columbus.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/RFQ031111 https://cocmeetings.webex.com/weblink/register/r03dec62eea8345b09d1bbaaa7208321d

City of Columbus Page 2 of 38

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Summary and Background

1.1 Purpose

1.2 City of Columbus

1.3 Columbus Police and Columbus Fire Department

1.4 Columbus Fire Department

1.5 Current Environment

2 Objectives

2.1 Key Objectives

2.2 Mandatory Requirements

2.3 Data Migration and Conversion

2.4 New Functionality

2.5 Out of Scope

3 Scope of Work

3.1 Overview and General Expectations

3.2 Project Assumptions

3.3 Phase Deliverables

3.4 Roles & Responsibilities

3.5 City Roles & Responsibilities

3.6 Project Approach and Planning

4 Proposal Information

4.1 Organization

4.2 Terminology and Definitions

4.3 Schedule

4.4 City Procurement Portal

4.5 Contact and Communication

4.6 Amendments to the RFP

4.7 Inquiries

4.8 Vendor Conference

4.9 Proposal Submittal

4.10 Confidentiality

4.11 Waiver of Defects

4.12 Multiple or Alternate Proposals

4.13 Changes to Proposal

4.14 Proposal Response Instructions

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5 Evaluation of Proposals

5.1 Disclosure of Proposal Contents

5.2 Evaluation of Proposals

5.3 Initial Review for Material Defects

5.4 Functional and Technical Evaluation

5.5 Requests for More Information

5.6 Discussions and Demonstrations

5.7 Invitation to Revise Proposals

5.8 Evaluation of Costs

5.9 Contract Negotiations

5.10 Failure to Negotiate

5.11 Evaluation Criteria

6 Requirements for Proposals

6.1 RFP Checklist of Required Documentation

7 Specifications & Requirements, Response Workbook, Supplements

7.1 Specifications & Requirements

7.2 Offeror Response Workbook

7.3 City of Columbus IT Environment Standards

8.5 Columbus Technology Data and Analytics Capabilities

8.6 Columbus Technology Environment and Capabilities

8 Terms and Conditions

8.1 Contract Components, Order of Precedence

8.2 City Standard Terms and Conditions for Services

8.3 City Technology Terms and Conditions Addendum

8.4 Offeror Documents to be Considered

8.5 Proposal Cost - Proposal Cost Instructions

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1 Summary and Background

1.1 Purpose

The City of Columbus (City), Department of Public Service, pursuant to the Revised Code of the State of Ohio, the Charter of the City of Columbus, Columbus City Code of Ordinances Section 329.28 (link to full text of code) and Title 39 (Minority and Female Business Enterprise), seeks proposals from highly qualified and experienced publishers or authorized partners (Offerors), for a turnkey solution for a Case Management System.

Summary of Scope:

o Document requirements for the acquisition of a new City of Columbus Public Safety Case Management System.

o Document requirements for the case management compliance process for all local Public Safety investigations as required by federal, state and local laws and administrative rules.

o Include needs of application to serve as both a database and form fill application.

o Capture internal user accessibility needs for system access.

o Include requirements for a comprehensive document management mechanism.

o Capture needs for internal and external data exchange capabilities.

o Document reporting mechanisms and capabilities, including data visualization dashboard interface and integration potential.

o Capture the idealized version of how the customer would prefer these new systematic and business processes will work together.

o Plan, train for, and implement new solution.

o Post Implementation support.

If a suitable proposal is offered in response to this request for proposals (RFP), the City will enter into a contract (Contract) to have the selected Offeror (Contractor) provide all or part of the desired solution and services (Work).

This RFP provides details on what is required to submit a proposal for the Work, how the City will evaluate the proposals, and what will be required of the Offeror in performing the Work.

This RFP also gives the estimated dates for the various events in the submission process, selection process, and performance of the Work. While these dates are subject to change, prospective Offerors should be prepared to meet them as stated.

Once awarded, the contract will entail a three-year engagement (initial one year term, plus two annual renewals), with the option for two more, one-year annual renewals. Further annual renewals are subject to a capped agreement by both parties. All such renewals are subject to City legislative approval and funding.

1.2 City of Columbus

Columbus is home to twenty Fortune 1000 companies, Ohio’s state capital and largest city, and the 15th largest city in the U.S. Columbus has a population of over 900,000 within a greater Columbus metro region of 2.5 million. The City manages a large array of services and assets on a budget of $1.8 billion with over 9,000 employees.

The City operates and is governed by its charter and is subject to the general laws of Ohio that are applicable to all municipalities. The Columbus City Charter provides for a mayor-council form of government. The Mayor is the https://library.municode.com/oh/columbus/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT3FITACO_CH329PRGOSEALPR_329.28AWPRSECOTHREPR

City of Columbus Page 5 of 38 chief executive officer and City Council is the legislative body. Other elected officials include the City Auditor, City Attorney, Clerk of Municipal Court and Municipal Court Judges.

Additional information about the City of Columbus, including detailed information about missions and operational budgets, is available at https://www.columbus.gov/.

1.3 Columbus Police and Columbus Fire Department

The Columbus Division of Police (CPD) serves to safeguard the lives, property, and rights of all, guided by the Constitution, core values, and ethical conduct. Its vision is to foster a safer city through employee and community engagement, embracing change, and treating all with dignity. CPD’s core values—Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Discipline, and Enthusiasm (P.R.I.D.E.)—reflect a commitment to service excellence, transparency, and collaboration. The Division is organized under the Chief of Police, with three primary branches, each led by an Assistant Chief and subdivided into bureaus, patrol zones, sections, shifts, units, and task forces.

https://www.columbus.gov/

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1.4 Columbus Fire Department

The Columbus Division of Fire (CFD) delivers fire suppression, rescue, and emergency medical services, responding to approximately 170,000 incidents annually from 35 stations. As a CPSE-accredited and ISO Class I department, its mission focuses on preventing emergencies through education, minimizing loss from fire and disasters, and reducing injury and suffering through effective EMS. The Division operates under the Fire Chief, with five Assistant Chiefs overseeing Administration, Emergency Services, Fire Prevention, Support Services, and Training Bureaus, supported by specialized operational and support units.

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1.5 Current Environment

1.5.1 Current System(s)

The City currently does not have a Case Management System. Motorola PremierOne records management system has limited case management features, including a workflow for supervisor review.

Digital evidence is kept in a variety of locations including spreadsheets on shared drives or physical thumb drives. Refer to attached process flows to understand how each group stores digital evidence.

1.5.2 Operational Challenges

The City is looking to mitigate the following operational challenges with a new solution:

1. Attachments are scanned in and not kept in a specific order

2. Photos and digital evidence are added as attachments and can’t be organized

3. There is no case status monitoring for supervisors

4. Supervisors are challenged to produce reports that detail overall investigative work product and efficiency for their respective units

1.5.3 User City Departments

Current users are the Departments of Public Safety – Police (Organized Crime Bureau, Homicide Bureau, Major Crimes, Special Investigations, Property Crimes, Support Operations)and Fire( Explosives Investigations, and Administrative Investigations).

Number of users:

User Type Description Count 1 Police Criminal Investigations, Organized Crime Bureau and Support

Operations Bureau

2 Fire Fire & Explosives Investigations 20 3 Fire Administrative Investigation Unit 10

1.5.4 System Statistics

Statistic Count

Columbus Police Investigations per year 70000

Columbus Fire Investigations per year 1600

1.5.5 Integrations

Scope of services for the solution must include provision for data mapping and integration between the solution and other City systems. The City has standardized on Talend as our citywide enterprise solution for integration between enterprise systems. Talend is an enterprise-grade Gartner Mag Quadrant Leader in Data Integration.

Planned integrations for this project will include potential use of Talend for integrations between the proposed solution and other third-party systems within the City where practical. For more information on Talend see:

https://www.talend.com/products/integrate-data/.

https://www.talend.com/products/integrate-data/

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Department System Description

Police Motorola PremierOne

v. 4.6.16

Current RMS System

Fire ImageTrend Version v.

1.25.06.1.3 Current RMS System

Police/Fire Hexagon CAD (v. 9.4) Computer Aided Dispatch for Police and Fire

City Attorney Matrix Pointe Prosecutor v. 25.08

City Attorney’s Office Prosecution Application

Police/City Attorney’s Office

Axon (Evidence.com) Stores Digital Evidence

Technology Esri ArcGIS City’s Geographic Information System

1.5.6 Test Environment

As part of any offered solution, the Offeror will need to account and plan for establishing multiple environments for development, testing, staging, and training environments.

These environments should be an isolated space that is a copy of production environments where system changes can be developed, tested, and users trained prior to promoting to production.

These environments must have the ability to quickly mocked up test data which is not a copy of data from production. Any test data should not contain real PI data or elements. The ability to refresh data as needed is critical.

All upgrades, updates and enhancements need to be tested in a non-production environment prior to being deployed to the production environment.

A training environment would be a copy of the production environment (identical configuration as version to production with the ability to enter data for training purposes). As with test data, training data should not contain real PI data or elements. This environment would be refreshed when system configuration and functionality is changed. This environment must match production configuration and version levels.

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2 Objectives

2.1 Key Objectives

The City’s high-level objectives for this project are:

2.1.1 Acquire a Case Management System for Public Safety operations.

2.1.2 Integrate with Police and Fire records management systems.

2.1.3 Enhance cohesion between systematic and business processes.

2.1.4 Streamline information sharing practices.

2.1.5 Enhance data validation and profile recognition.

2.1.6 Generate informed decision-making opportunities for leadership.

2.1.7 Utilize real-time data reporting mechanisms that provide continuously accurate and updated data sets.

2.1.8 Workflow capabilities with real-time notifications.

2.1.9 Ability to use a search engine for investigative leads.

2.1.10 Optimize document management.

The City is targeting for the new system to be fully implemented and in production by June 2026.

2.2 Mandatory Requirements

Key material requirements for the proposed solution are as follows:

2.2.1 Ability for system to provide tools to manage and track all aspects of criminal investigation functions in a modern user interface.

2.2.2 Ability for system to meet or exceed CJIS Compliant Security and Access Controls as required under local and federal requirements.

2.2.3 Ability to create case files, assign, and track through investigative processes.

2.2.4 Ability to define and track investigative steps, assign tasks, and set deadlines.

2.2.5 Ability to securely store, track, and manage case evidence within the system.

2.2.6 Ability to facilitate secure internal and external communication and file sharing

2.2.7 Ability to create reports on case status and analyze data for trends, patterns, and correlations.

2.2.8 Ability to integrate with public safety and law enforcement systems for real time and historical data.

2.2.9 Demonstrates additional functionality that optimize operations, enhances investigative capabilities, and improves collaboration.

Section 8.1 – Specifications and Requirements and the Offeror Response Workbook attachment provide additional detail and coverage of all response requirements pertaining to functional and technical scope, including the mandatory requirements listed above.

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2.3 Data Migration and Conversion

The City has transactional and/or reference data within existing systems that will require migration/conversion.

Services scope for the solution must include provision for data mapping and conversion/migration of data from City systems to the new solution.

2.4 New Functionality

In addition to current operations and functionality described above, the Contractor will design, plan and implement the following new functionality:

2.4.1 Interface to data in City’s Public Safety to allow data to be searchable within the Case Management Solution

2.4.2 Case status monitoring for supervisors

2.4.3 Workflow capabilities with real-time notifications

2.4.4 Ability to redact any field in printable reports

2.4.5 Ability to set permissions on a user, unit and case level

2.4.6 Ability to replicate near live data to a local database via an API

2.4.7 Ability to create custom fields and form

2.4.8 Real time crime mapping and statistics

2.5 Out of Scope

Features or functionality that are out of scope for this project include the following:

2.5.1 Investigative needs for federal, state, or county law enforcement entities for whom cases may overlap with the City of Columbus are not in scope for the purposes of this document. All requirements outlined

2.5.2 Integration with the database utilized by the Franklin County Jail is not necessary and therefore not being captured at this time

2.5.3 Integration with federal case management systems or other national criminal databases is not feasible and will not be addressed in this document

2.5.4 Business process decisions or legislation changes that require currently unreported information or additional responsibilities not currently enforceable are considered out to scope for purposes of this document

2.5.5 Records Management System:

A new records management system will not be implemented with the case management system.

However, the City of Columbus would like to be aware of records management systems that are compatible with the proposed case management system for future reference (Pending RMS RFP coming in 2026).

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3 Scope of Work

This section gives a summary of the scope of Work for this project. Section 8.1 – Specifications and Requirements and the Offeror Response Workbook attachment provide additional detail and coverage of proposal response requirements pertaining to functional and technical scope.

Offerors are encouraged to offer improvements to the proposed project approach if they believe changes will better meet the City’s objectives. Please clearly mark any recommended improvements as such.

3.1 Overview and General Expectations

Turnkey Solution Proposals will be for a turnkey solution. Please see Appendix B, #2 for details. In summary:

The Contractor will lead project management, design, and development of the Work. The Contractor will coordinate the successful execution of the Work and direct all Work activities on a day-to-day basis, with the advice and consent of the City. The Contractor will be responsible for all communications regarding the progress of the Work and will discuss with the City any issues, recommendations, and decisions related to the Work.

The City seeks a turnkey complete working solution. Any incidental items omitted in the Contract will be provided as part of the Contractor’s price. The Contractor will fully identify, describe, and document all systems that are delivered as a part of the project. All hardware, software, supplies, and other required components such as documentation, conversion, training, and maintenance for the project to be complete and useful to the City must be included in the proposal and price.

The Contractor will describe the support, assistance, and facilities it wants from the City other than what the City has described within this RFP.

Phases The following is a generalized implementation by phase to set the general expectation of the service to be provided:

1. Plan and Schedule

2. User Department Engagement Plan

3. Discovery

4. Design

5. Configuration of System

6. Testing Plan/Testing

7. Transition Plan

8. Transition and Go-Live

9. Support

10. Acceptance and Post Acceptance Support

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3.2 Project Assumptions

3.2.1 Solution can be completed and in production by Q2, 2026.

3.2.2 Contractor will identify and request any City or third-party resources needed for success of the project.

3.2.3 Contractor will incorporate planning, design and implementation for a solution that meets the defined requirements within this RFP, and any additional requirements that the proposed solution requires for proper configuration and function.

3.2.4 Contractor will create a comprehensive project plan.

3.2.5 Contractor will develop a comprehensive user department engagement plan.

3.2.6 Contractor will create a project management plan.

3.2.7 Contractor will ensure equivalent existing functions are implemented in the new system.

3.2.8 Contractor will build test scripts and a testing plan.

3.2.9 Contractor will recommend best practices to maximize utilization efficiency and user experience.

3.2.10 Contractor will recommend post-implementation future functions and improvements.

3.2.11 Contractor will provide a solution that is compatible with the City’s Information Technology

Standards (See IT standards in section 8.4).

3.2.12 Final contract execution will occur Q4 2025.

3.3 Phase Deliverables

Offerors are asked to describe their approach to the project to include these deliverables within the Offeror Response Workbook (see section 7 and 8.2).

3.3.1 Plan and Schedule

The Contractor will develop and manage a comprehensive project management plan to include role planning and management, risk management, communication and escalation management, issue management, and task management. The Contractor will also develop and manage a project plan, including a project schedule tracking all project tasks, assignments, dates, and dependencies.

3.3.2 User Department Engagement Plan

The Contractor will develop a comprehensive user department engagement plan. Planning will include user department engagement milestones and tasks associated with both planning and execution of each of the phases of the project including discovery and inventory, design, configuration, testing, deployment and transition, training, and Acceptance.

3.3.3 Discovery

Discovery will begin with a review and inventory of the City’s existing system environments. In addition to inventory of current systems and integrations, this phase of the project will require engagement between the Contractor, City technology architects, user departments and subject matter experts for the purpose of verifying inventory from above steps and gathering additional information/specifications needed to configure the replacement solution.

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The contractor will meet with department personnel, review and validate requirements documented within this RFP and the Offeror Response Workbook, and to gather additional, detailed application and system requirements required for proper system configuration. The contractor will document said requirements and validate the requirements with the City prior to commencing subsequent phases. At the minimum, the requirements documentation will contain the following information for each requirement:

1. A unique requirement I.D.

2. Detailed description of the requirement

3. The entity specifying the requirement

4. Date and time the requirement was gathered

5. Any legal or business process that drives the requirement

The Contractor will also provide recommendations for potential future (post-implementation) functionality/features.

3.3.4 Design

Project scope will include a Contractor-developed design for a replacement solution. The design will be based on the discovery of the previous project step described above and include additional technical and business requirements documented within this RFP and the Offeror Response Workbook. City review and approval of design will occur prior to proceeding to next steps for the project.

3.3.5 Configuration

The Contractor will configure the solution to meet project scope, and all elements of the City approved design. The configured solution needs to be able to support future growth. Configuration must include completion of integrations with external systems.

3.3.6 Testing Plan/Testing

The Contractor will provide test plans and test scripts for review by City. Test plans must incorporate a defect log or register, and defect remediation planning. Once plans and scripts are approved, the Contractor will conduct testing for the solution.

3.3.7 Transition and Post Deployment Support Plans

The Contractor will develop a transition plan for migration from the old systems to the new system. The Contractor will develop a post deployment support plan detailing SLAs for incident management. The City will approve both plans prior to execution.

3.3.8 Training, Rollout and Support

The Contractor will develop and execute a City approved training plan. The Contractor will implement the transition plan from the old systems to the new system per City approved plan. The Contractor will participate in system launch activities and provide post deployment support services per City approved plan.

3.3.9 Acceptance and Post Acceptance Support

The City will accept the solution as completed (see “Acceptance” in section 4.2) once all contracted deliverables and scheduled project tasks have been completed, and all key/critical defects have been resolved by the Contractor. Additional key/critical defects, while unlikely after Acceptance, are

08/29/2025 16 possible. Intimate project and solution implementation knowledge will be critical toward efficient resolution of such key/critical defects.

For a period of four weeks after Final Acceptance, the Contractor will make available upon request, Contractor technical project team members that have been assigned to the City project, for the purposes of addressing defects, questions and issues.

3.4 Roles & Responsibilities

It is acceptable that actual staff titles may differ from the names of roles described in this section.

3.4.1 Contractor Roles & Responsibilities

The Offeror will provide leadership and propose a project team that will successfully deliver an innovative solution as per City requirements while minimizing risk. The Offeror is to list proposed project team members within the Offeror Response Workbook, Sheet 6 (see section 7 and 8.2).

Project Manager: Provides project management oversight from planning through acceptance of the solution, as defined within the RFP. Proposed Project Managers should have demonstrable project management expertise and should have recognized project management credentials. Responsibilities include at a minimum:

a. Communicate proactively and cooperate flexibly with City staff.

b. Create and manage a detailed project plan and schedule.

c. Communicate progress or lack.

d. Manage contractor and City project staff.

e. Serve as liaison between City and Contractor resources.

f. Serve as liaison with user City departments.

g. Initiate quality assurance processes to monitor the project.

h. Identify and manage issues and risk.

i. Serve as point of escalation for project issues.

j. Manage deliverables acceptance process.

k. Provide routine communications with the City project coordinator.

The Offeror will propose the remainder of its project leadership team it deems appropriate to provide for the needs of the project, such as:

Business Analyst: Provides requirements verification and business process and subject matter expertise for the proposed solution. Offerors may propose single or multiple functional/configuration leads for multiple business areas or modules if desired. Responsibilities may include: Lead all requirements verification, design, configuration, workflow, security design, development, test script development, and testing. Provide input to training development and participate as part of the immediate post go live support team. Proposed Business Analysts should have demonstrable expertise assisting organizations with implementing the Case Management System in general, and specifically the proposed solution.

Technical Lead: Provides technical subject matter expertise for the proposed solution and leads implementation. Proposed Technical Leads should have demonstrable expertise assisting organizations with implementing the Case Management System in general, and specifically the proposed solution, and should hold appropriate manufacturer/publisher, and applicable technology certifications.

Responsibilities may include:

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a. Lead technical team in tasks for inbound and outbound interfaces, custom development, enhancements, reports and testing.

b. Lead installation, and administrative configuration of the proposed system and infrastructure.

c. Lead end to end technical implementation of proposed solution.

d. Serve as central point of communication for all technical matters concerning the solution, supporting infrastructure, and integrations that involve City staff.

e. Support the Contractor project manager in discussions with City project coordinator, City technical lead, and City SMEs.

• Ensure proper technical documentation of proposed and implemented solution.

Training Lead: Plans and leads the design, development, and implementation of the training program and materials for the project. Proposed Training Leads should have demonstrable expertise training similar organizations for administration and use of Case Management System in general, and specifically the proposed solution. Responsibilities to include at a minimum:

a. Document approach to training.

b. Develop training schedules aligned with the overall project plan.

c. Will have thorough understanding of the functional and technical requirements of the solution.

d. Develop a simple user guide for the solution.

e. Will have thorough understanding of the workflow process of the solution at every tier.

f. Perform training needs analysis to determine the best method of delivering content.

g. Develop and maintain training curriculum and associated training materials.

h. Evaluate participants at every level to determine appropriate training outcomes.

i. Lead implementation of the training plan required in the RFP, as well as conduct training sessions.

3.5 City Roles & Responsibilities

The City will provide oversight for the Work, but as a turnkey solution, the Contractor is responsible for and will provide overall work management for the tasks under the Contract, including day to day management of its staff.

The Contractor will identify and request any City or third-party resources needed for success of the project.

Requests for City and third-party resources must be documented, with an explanation of expected roles and responsibilities.

The Contractor will assist the City with coordinating assignments for any City staff involved in the Work.

Throughout the effort, the Contractor will provide all administrative support for its staff and activities.

Throughout the effort, the Contractor will ensure a comprehensive, detailed project plan is developed, executed, monitored, reported on, and maintained. The City requests the Contractor to utilize Smartsheet for project documentation, communication, and for transmittals. The Contractor may propose additional project management tools.

Since integrations between the Case Management System solution and other third-party systems are within scope, the Contractor is responsible for identification of any requirements or need for assistance from City third-party vendors. The City will provide introductions and coordination of discussion, planning and work required between the Contractor and third-party vendor.

3.6 Project Approach and Planning

The Contractor will lead, with the City assisting. Questions regarding project approach and planning are in the Offeror Response Workbook (see section 7 and 8.2). Identification of known or perceived challenges is important

08/29/2025 18 and should be included in the response. Include an approach that stresses strong collaboration, problem solving, and the relationship between the City and the Contractor. The Offeror should include their proposed optimal architecture to meet the deliverables of the RFP.

The proposal will propose a timeline schedule and explanation of the phases proposed to meet RFP requirements, in addition to any other value-added approaches not specifically identified in the RFP.

The City intends to be fully implemented no later than June 2026. Please propose a timeline which meets this date. The City will consider alternate dates with reasonable rationale.

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4 Proposal Information

The following sub-sections provide details on how to get more information about the project, this RFP, and how to submit a proposal for consideration. All responses must be complete and in the prescribed format utilizing the Offeror Response Workbook (see sections 7 and 8.2).

4.1 Organization

A summary of the sections in this RFP are as follows:

Section 1 – Summary and Background (purpose, background, objectives, current environment) Section 2 – Objectives (high level description of existing and new functionality desired, data migration, etc.)

Section 3 – Scope of Work (definition of the work for this project, roles, responsibilities, expectations, etc.)

Section 4 – General RFP Instructions (definitions, schedule, communication, processes) Section 5 – Evaluation of Proposals (City review of proposals, processes) Section 6 – Award of Contract (award process, contract components) Section 7 – Requirements for Proposals (Workbook requirement, additional documentation, etc.)

Section 8 – Specifications & Requirements, Response Workbook, Supplements (all attachments) Section 9 – General Terms and Conditions Section 10 – Proposal Cost (Instructions for submission of initial project pricing, and recurring costs)

4.2 Terminology and Definitions

Neither terminology, project parameters, nor functional specifications contained in this RFP are intended to imply or denote a particular vendor or solution, nor are they intended to be restrictive in any way. If Offerors have any questions about interpretations, please inquire via the City procurement portal (see section 4.4) any time prior to the due date for written questions.

For the purposes of this RFP, the following words have particular meanings:

“Acceptance” means satisfactory completion and customer approval of all deliverables associated with the solution per the terms of this RFP. Acceptance activities may include reviews, testing, auditing, etc.

“Publisher”, “Author” or “Licensor” mean the owner of the copyright of the system, application or solution.

“Chair of the Committee” chair of the City committee responsible for evaluation of this RFP.

“Contract” or “Agreement” means the general agreement for procurement of a solution meeting the requirements of this RFP, including City terms and conditions (see section 9).

“Conversion” means the migration of City data and functionality from existing systems or platforms to a new solution.

“Day” means the City’s normal workday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays recognized by City.

“General Available Release” or “Version” means that version of each system or software package generally provided to all of the licensor’s customers on or after project Work start.

“Major Components” means the central processing elements such as physical or virtual servers, data storage, networking, telephony, software, etc. required for the system solution to perform in production.

“Networking and Communications” means those technologies which enable the access to, sharing, or transfer of data and information among users of and components included in the System.

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“Offeror”, “Contractor”, “Proposer”, or “Vendor” means that firm acting as prime contractor in offering the solution and related services requested by this RFP.

“Performance Period” means the ninety (90) working days following implementation of any one or more components of the solution, during which the acceptance tests for such components are completed and the successful completion of which results in acceptance.

“Responsible Bidder” means, a bidder who has demonstrated the capability and capacity in all respects to fully perform the RFP requirements and whose experience, integrity and reliability indicate good faith performance.

“System/Software Enhancement” means changing code to support new or additional requirements.

“System” includes the hardware, system software, application software and supportive programming aids, training and training materials, user manuals, operations documentation, networking and data communications, source code, and related components and materials necessary to implement the solution as specified in this RFP.

“Purchase Price” means the City’s total financial obligation to the Contractor under the Contract.

4.3 Schedule

The schedule is given in the table below. The City may change this schedule at any time. If the City changes the schedule for events prior to and including proposals due, it will do so through an announcement on the City’s procurement portal on the record for this specific RFP (https://columbus.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/RFQ031111). The announcement will accompany an amendment to the RFP, also available through the portal. Note that the City may make changes in the project schedule after the Contract award.

Only proposals received via the City procurement portal prior to the due date and time will be reviewed and considered for Contract award. Proposals submitted to the portal after the due date and time will be rejected by the City. Proposals sent or delivered to the City using any other method will not be reviewed.

It is each prospective Offeror’s responsibility to check the portal for current information regarding this RFP and its calendar of events through award of the Contract.

https://columbus.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/RFQ031111

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Key dates pertaining to this RFP are as follows:

Event Date

Firm Dates

RFP Issued: September 02, 2025 @ 4:00 PM

Written Questions Due by: September 15, 2025 @ 3:00 PM

Vendor Conference September 15, 2025 @ 2:00 – 3:00 PM

Register for Vendor Conference here:

https://cocmeetings.webex.com/weblink/register/r0 3dec62eea8345b09d1bbaaa7208321d

Responses to Questions: September 22, 2025 @ 4:00 PM

Proposals Due (at portal below): October 06, 2025 @ 1:00 PM

Requested Presentations: October 22-23, 2025

Estimated Dates

Contract Award: November 03, 2025 @ 4:00 PM

Project Work Begins: December 2025

Full Implementation by: June 2026

There are references in this RFP to the proposal event dates. Unless it is clearly provided to the contrary in this RFP, any such reference means the date and time that the Proposals are due and not just the date as recorded by the City procurement portal in Columbus, Ohio local time, which is in the Eastern U.S. Time Zone.

4.4 City Procurement Portal

All general and updated information regarding this RFP can be found on the City procurement portal at https://columbus.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/RFQ031111. The portal is the primary vehicle for communication back and forth between the City and all Offerors until proposals are due.

4.5 Contact and Communication

The procurement portal is the communication channel for this RFP until proposals are due. For strictly administrative issues, the primary point of contact for the City for this RFP is:

Richard Metheney Fiscal Operations Management Analyst II https://cocmeetings.webex.com/weblink/register/r03dec62eea8345b09d1bbaaa7208321d https://columbus.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/RFQ031111

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Fiscal Office Police 614-645-4611, rmetheney@columbuspolice.org

During the RFP, evaluation and negotiation process, Offerors are strictly prohibited from communicating with any City employees or officers regarding this solicitation except through the procurement portal until proposals are due or the primary point of contact named above thereafter. Any communication from the Offeror to the City after the question-and-answer period should be limited to strictly administrative matters and even then, only what is necessary.

Necessary communications by the City will be communicated clearly to Offerors via the procurement portal. If any Offeror has a need to communicate directly with someone at the City for administrative reasons, the communication must come only to the City primary point of contact. All other questions regarding the RFP must come via the procurement portal.

If a City employee attempts to communicate with an Offeror contrary to this provision, the Offeror shall report the incident to the City primary point of contact. A violation of this section on the part of the Offeror may lead to disqualification of the Offeror.

4.6 Amendments to the RFP

All amendments and changes to this RFP will be published at the City procurement portal. Offerors are responsible for keeping up with all amendments, changes, and communications via the portal.

4.7 Inquiries

All questions regarding this RFP must be submitted on the City procurement portal no later than the “Written Questions Due by” date (section 4.3).

4.8 Vendor Conference

The Vendor Conference is offered to provide a review of the structure and content of the RFP. The City will provide clarification for any questions in reference to the RFP.

The Vendor Conference is scheduled for September 15, 2:00 -3:00 PM EST. In order to attend the conference you must register in advance. The registration link is:

https://cocmeetings.webex.com/weblink/register/r03dec62eea8345b09d1bbaaa7208321d.

Once registration is completed, you will receive a link to the conference webinar via email.

4.9 Proposal Submittal

Submit proposals per instructions on the City procurement portal. Attachments to this RFP (see section 8) are provided for Offerors to utilize for their responses. All proposals, including all workbooks, forms, and attachments must be submitted via the portal no later than the “Proposals Due” date (see section 4.3).

By submitting a proposal, the Offeror acknowledges that it has read this RFP, understands it, and agrees to follow its requirements. The Offeror also acknowledges understanding of potential risk of lower evaluation scores associated with substantial exceptions to the terms and conditions of this RFP, or statements, assumptions, or conditions that do not align well with City needs.

mailto:rmetheney@columbuspolice.org

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The City’s retention period for proposals is three years.

4.10 Confidentiality

All confidential information within proposals must be clearly marked as confidential at a detailed level.

Confidential markings must be reasonable, limited, and not encompassing. Any proposal with the entirety of the agreement marked as confidential will be rejected. The City will protect confidential content from disclosure as is permissible by law. In the event the City is compelled to disclose confidential information it will notify the Offeror in advance such that the Offeror has opportunity to seek a stay or court order to preclude release. In general, all proposals are a matter of public record at the conclusion of the selection process pursuant to O.R.C. 149.43, the Public Records Act.

4.11 Waiver of Defects

The City may waive defects in any proposal or in the submission process followed by an Offeror. The City will only do so if it believes that it is in the City's interests and will not cause any material unfairness to other Offerors.

4.12 Multiple or Alternate Proposals

Offerors may submit more than one solution option. Please see Sections 8.2 and 10.1 for more information on submitting more than one solution proposal.

4.13 Changes to Proposal

The City will allow modifications or withdrawals of proposals only if the City receives them before the proposal due date. No modifications or withdrawals will be permitted after the due date, except as authorized by this RFP or amendments to it.

4.14 Proposal Response Instructions

Proposal response instructions are covered in Section 7 of this RFP.

The City is not liable for any costs an Offeror incurs in responding to this RFP or from participating in the evaluation process, regardless of whether the City awards the Contract through this process.

5 Evaluation of Proposals

All processes and procedures relative to the RFP process, including evaluation, are governed by City Code of Ordinances Section 329.28, ‘Awarding professional service contracts through requests for proposal.’ (link to full text of code).

MBE/WBE certification is factored into evaluation scores. A certified MBE/WBE Offeror's proposal may include a request form (see section 8.3 and attached Bid Incentive Request Form) for an incentive credit equal to five percent of the Offeror's final evaluation score to be applied to the MBE/WBE Offeror's final score. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will review the request form and approve its application if the Offeror is a certified MBE/WBE at the time RFPs are due.

An evaluation committee will evaluate proposals and may select two or more of the highest qualified Offerors for further discussions. Discussions may include presentations, and/or system demonstrations to the committee to https://library.municode.com/oh/columbus/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT3FITACO_CH329PRGOSEALPR_329.28AWPRSECOTHREPR https://library.municode.com/oh/columbus/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT3FITACO_CH329PRGOSEALPR_329.28AWPRSECOTHREPR

08/29/2025 24 elaborate upon their qualifications, proposals, and other pertinent information. The City will ask highest qualified Offerors to provide system demonstrations during this phase of the evaluation process for this RFP. A vendor led demonstration will be scheduled for October 22 or October 23. The City will provide use cases for the demo. The City may also request for a sandbox environment to be made available for evaluators to trial the user interfaces in during the demonstration and final evaluation phases. The committee may permit revisions of proposals so long as all Offerors who are selected for additional discussions are given equal opportunity to revise their proposals.

After discussions, the committee will rank the remaining Offerors, and submit said ranking, along with a written explanation of the basis for the ranking, to the Public Safety Director. The department may select an Offeror with which to enter into contract negotiations or may not select any Offeror and cancel the RFP. The department may enter into Contract negotiations with the selected Offeror to determine the terms and conditions of the Contract, including compensation to be paid by the City.

If negotiations fail, the City department may enter into Contract negotiations with the second highest ranked Offeror or may cancel the RFP. This process may continue until a Contract is successfully negotiated or the RFP is cancelled.

Per City Code 329.11 (link to full text of code), The director of finance and management or designee or city agency may issue addenda to or cancel any invitation for bids, request for statements of qualifications, and/or request for proposals, and may reject any or all bids or proposals in whole or in part when it is in the best interests of the city. Each invitation for bids, request for statements of qualifications, and request for proposals issued by the city shall state that the bid or request may be cancelled and that any bid or proposal may be rejected in whole or in part when it is in the best interests of the city.

5.1 Disclosure of Proposal Contents

The City will keep the contents of all proposals confidential until a contract is executed, or the RFP is cancelled. All proposals are public record at the conclusion of the process, except those portions marked confidential consistent with Section 4.9 Confidentiality.

From the opening of the proposals to the award of the Contract, everyone evaluating proposals will limit access to information contained in the proposals solely to those people with a need to know the information. The City will keep proposal content information from other Offerors, and the City will not tell one Offeror about the contents of another Offeror's proposal.

5.2 Evaluation of Proposals

The evaluation process may consist of up to six distinct phases:

1. Initial review for material defects;

2. Functional and technical evaluation;

3. Requests for more information;

4. Discussions and demonstrations;

5. Invitation to revise proposals;

6. Evaluation of costs; and,

7. Contract negotiations.

https://library.municode.com/oh/columbus/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT3FITACO_CH329PRGOSEALPR_329.11ISADANINBIRESTQUREPR

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If it believes it will improve evaluation without compromising fairness and competition, the City may decide whether any phases are necessary, may add phases, and may rearrange the order in which it proceeds with the phases.

5.3 Initial Review for Material Defects

The City will review all Proposals for mandatory requirements. The City may waive any defects, allow an Offeror to submit a correction, or determine a proposal is non-responsive and disqualify it if the City believes doing so would not result in an unfair advantage for the Offeror and it is in the City’s interest. After the initial review, the City will proceed with detailed evaluation by an evaluation committee, which the chair of the committee will lead.

5.4 Functional and Technical Evaluation

The City will evaluate each proposal that it has determined is timely, complete, and complies with mandatory requirements. The evaluation will be scored according to how well the proposal addresses the requirements and criteria identified in this RFP, including the requirements referenced in sections 7 and 8. Other attachments to this RFP may further refine these requirements, and the City has a right to break these requirements into components and weight any components of a requirement according to their perceived importance.

The City may have proposals or portions of them reviewed and evaluated by City personnel with experience or subject matter expertise that relates to the Work or to a criterion in the evaluation process. Any recommendations it receives from such reviews and evaluations are only advisory to the evaluation committee.

Such personnel will not provide scores during the evaluation committee scoring process.

During the functional and technical evaluation, the committee will calculate a point total for each proposal that it evaluates. The committee may reject any proposal receiving a significant number of zeros for sections in the technical portions of the evaluation. The committee may select those Offerors submitting the highest rated proposals for the next phase or may select none and cancel the RFP. The number of proposals that advance to the next phase will be within the committee’s discretion. Regardless of the number of proposals selected, they will be the highest rated proposals from this phase.

At any time during this phase, the committee may ask an Offeror to correct, revise, or clarify any portions of its proposal so long as doing so would not result in unfairness.

The City will document the evaluation results for each Proposal considered.

5.5 Requests for More Information

At any time during the evaluation process, at the City’s sole discretion, it may request clarifications from any Offeror under active consideration and may give any Offeror the opportunity to correct its proposal if the City believes doing so would not result in an unfair advantage for the Offeror, and it is in the City’s interest. The City may reject any correction that is non-responsive or broader in scope than the correction the City requested. If the City does so, or if the Offeror fails to respond to the request for correction, the City then may request a correction or consider the Offeror’s proposal without the correction.

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5.6 Discussions and Demonstrations

The City may request the highest-ranked Offerors to interview, make a presentation about their proposal, and demonstrate their solutions. Such discussions provide an Offeror with an opportunity to do one or more of the following:

• Explain its proposal and ensure a mutual understanding of the proposal’s content;

• Show the features and functions of its proposed solution; and,

• Demonstrate its professionalism, qualifications, skills, and work knowledge.

The City will schedule the presentations,…