9-RFP-02-Scope of Services.pdf

CITY OF FORT WORTH - PURCHASING DIVISION

SCOPE OF SERVICES

RFP Ref. #: 26-0263 Doc. Ref#: RFP-02 Page 1 of 16 RFP Title: AI-based IVR Solution

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

The City is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to procure a comprehensive, enterprise-grade Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform that unifies resident-facing and staff-facing services, modernizes the City’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) capabilities, and provide secure, consistent, and multilingual access to City information across all channels. This platform will support conversational voice AI, voice, web chat, agent chat, short message service (SMS), channels document-grounded reasoning, and deep integration with existing City systems.

This unified RFP integrates requirements drawn from multiple municipal initiatives including:

• AI-driven voice and web services for resident engagement

• Citywide IVR modernization

• Staff-facing AI support for permitting, zoning, and development services workflows.

The solution must improve accessibility, consistency, response quality, and operational efficiency across the City’s service ecosystem.

2.0 BACKGROUND

The City serves more than one million residents across numerous departments and seven call centers. Current challenges include:

• Limited after-hours service availability

• Siloed chat, IVR, and frequently asked questions (FAQ) systems

• Inconsistent responses across channels

• Limited multilingual support

• High staff workload responding to repetitive inquiries

• No unified view of resident interaction data

• Need for deterministic, document-grounded staff-facing responses

• Lack of direct integration with existing City systems such as Cisco

IVR, Microsoft 365, and Accela The selected solution must operate as a single AI platform that connects to:

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• Cisco on-prem phone system IVR, with future Cloud based capabilities

• Public website (currently hosted by Granicus – OpenCities)

• Microsoft 365 environment (Power BI reporting)

• Accela permitting system

• Municipal Court’s case management system

• Motorola Solutions PremierOne CSR solution

• RightNow

• GIS ESRI infrastructure

The City seeks to consolidate these needs into a single enterprise-grade AI platform capable of serving residents and staff consistently, accurately, and securely.

3.0 VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS

3.1 Vendor shall have a minimum of 3 years of experience deploying government-focused AI platforms.

3.2 Vendor shall provide a minimum of 5 local government references.

3.3 Vendor shall have a minimum of 2 references from cities/counties with populations of >500,000.

3.4 Vendor shall demonstrate proof of financial stability.

3.5 Vendor shall demonstrate investment in ongoing product development.

4.0 SCOPE OF SERVICES

4.1 Resident-Facing Services

4.1.1 Vendor shall provide one unified AI-powered interface for residents across:

4.1.1.1 Voice (integrated into City’s Cisco on-prem IVR)

4.1.1.2 Web chat (embedded on the city website)

4.1.1.3 SMS/Text

4.1.1.4 Outbound campaign calling

4.1.1.5 Mobile-friendly interaction surfaces

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4.1.2 Resident-facing features shall include:

4.1.2.1 24/7 service availability

4.1.2.2 Multilingual support: at least 20+ languages for voice;

75+ languages for chat

4.1.2.3 Consistent responses across all channels

4.1.2.4 Retrieval-augmented generation for natural language

understanding of City documents

4.1.2.5 Ability to surface forms, links, and action workflows directly in chat or SMS

4.1.2.6 Automated outbound notifications for alerts, emergencies, closures, or reminders

4.2 Staff-Facing Services

4.2.1 The solution shall include a staff-facing knowledge and workflow support suite:

4.2.1.1 AI powered email assistance for generating precise, policy-based communications

4.2.1.2 Browser extension supporting any web-based system, including Accela

4.2.1.3 Real-time standardized checklists with branching logic

4.2.1.4 GIS-integrated address and parcel lookup tool

4.2.1.5 Ability to auto-populate fields in City web applications

4.2.1.6 Full audit trails of staff interactions

4.3 Unified Knowledge Base

4.3.1 Vendor shall deliver a single Knowledge Base (KB) that powers resident-facing and staff-facing channels. Requirements include:

4.3.1.1 Integration with the City’s FAQ platform

4.3.1.2 Direct ingestion of PDFs, Word documents, HTML

pages, and scanned documents

4.3.1.3 Real-time or near-real-time updates by City staff

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(under 24 hours)

4.3.1.4 Deterministic responses for staff-facing use cases

4.3.1.5 AI must cite source documents, sections, and page

numbers

4.3.1.6 No hallucination or content fabrication permitted

4.3.1.7 Ability to manually include or exclude specific URLs

4.4 AI and Language Model Architecture

4.4.1 The solution must be:

4.4.1.1 AI-native, not a legacy platform with AI bolted on

4.4.1.2 Capable of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) for

resident-facing interactions

4.4.1.3 Capable of deterministic, document-grounded

responses for staff

4.4.1.4 Able to detect and route based on language

4.4.1.5 Configurable for voice accents and greeting behaviors

4.4.1.6 Operated by an in-house vendor AI engineering team

(U.S.-based preferred)

4.4.1.7 All systems hosting, data storage, and operational

environments must remain within the United States.

4.4.1.8 All City data must be processed and stored exclusively in U.S.-based data centers.

4.4.1.9 Not dependent on third-party black-box application

programming interfaces (API) for core reasoning

4.4.1.10 Vendor must disclose all AI model components, data

flow pathways, and any third-party services used in processing City data.

4.4.1.11 AI input and responses recordings should not be shared outside of City’s tenant.

4.4.1.12 AI input and responses should not be used to train AI

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4.4.2 AI outputs must include:

4.4.2.1 Source citations

4.4.2.2 Contextual reasoning

4.4.2.3 Interaction metadata (language, timestamps, topic

classification)

4.5 Integrations

4.5.1 Vendor must provide full integration with the systems listed below, but not limited to, and must support integration with additional departmental systems as needed:

4.5.1.1 Cisco on-premises IVR (no telephone replacement)

4.5.1.2 Cisco cloud environment IVR (int the works)

4.5.1.2.1 Vendor must maintain compatibility

throughout the City’s migration from Cisco on-prem to Cisco cloud.

4.5.1.3 Transitional Avaya-to-Cisco environments

4.5.1.4 Microsoft 365 including Azure Active Directory Single

Sign-on/Microsoft Entra

4.5.1.5 Chrome and Edge browsers

4.5.1.6 Accela permitting platform

4.5.1.7 City geographic information system (ESRI/ArcGIS)

4.5.1.8 City-maintained FAQ system

4.5.1.9 City case management system (CMS) and public

website

4.5.1.10 SMS gateways

4.6 Security & Compliance

4.6.1 Vendor must meet or exceed:

4.6.1.1 System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type II

certification (current, no material exceptions)

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4.6.1.2 U.S.-based data residency

4.6.1.3 Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) -256 encryption

at rest

4.6.1.4 Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2+ encryption in

transit

4.6.1.5 Role-based access controls with multi-factor

authentication

4.6.1.6 99%+ uptime service-level agreement (SLA)

4.6.1.7 5-year audit log retention

4.6.1.8 24-hour breach notification

4.6.1.9 Compliance with:

4.6.1.9.1 American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II

4.6.1.9.2 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

2.1 AA

4.6.1.9.3 Title VI / Executive Order 13166 (Language

access)

4.6.1.9.4 Texas Public Information Act

4.6.1.9.5 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

(PCI DSS) if payments involved

4.6.1.9.6 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability

Act (HIPAA) Compliance

4.6.1.9.7 Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS)

Compliance

4.6.1.9.8 Personal identifiable information protection

requirements

4.6.2 AI Compliance:

4.6.2.1 City data may not be used to train shared models

4.6.2.2 No cross-customer training

4.6.2.3 No exposure of City documents to resident-facing tools

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4.6.2.4 Full transparency in model architecture and training

data sourcing

4.7 Implementation Requirements

4.7.1 Vendor must deliver:

4.7.1.1 Implementation plan including detailed deployment

schedule (phases, milestone, and Gantt chart)

4.7.1.2 Vendor-led implementation (“white glove service”)

4.7.1.3 KB ingestion of City documents and website content

4.7.1.4 Training for all staff roles

4.7.1.5 Continuous vendor support

4.7.1.6 System must support expansion to additional City

departments in the future (Water, Parks, Police/EMC, etc.) without re-architecture

4.7.2 Expandability:

4.7.2.1 Ability to onboard additional departments without re-procurement

4.7.2.2 Ability to inherit cross-department KB content where

authorized

4.8 Analytics & Reporting

4.8.1 The system must include analytics for:

4.8.1.1 Interaction volume across all channels

4.8.1.2 Common topics and trends

4.8.1.3 Staff response time improvements

4.8.1.4 Time-to-resolution metrics

4.8.1.5 Workflow usage

4.8.1.6 Form completion and document access patterns

4.8.1.7 Adoption monitoring

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4.8.1.8 Exportable reports (CSV, PDF)

4.8.1.9 ROI calculations (staff hours saved, equivalent FTE

increases)

4.9 Warranties

4.9.1 Definitions.

4.9.1.1 “Intellectual Property” or “IP” means any inventions, discoveries, designs, processes, software, documentation, reports, and works of authorship, drawings, specifications, formulae, databases, algorithms, models, methods, techniques, technical data, discoveries, know how, trade secrets, and other technical proprietary information and all patents, copyrights, mask works, trademarks, service marks, trade names, service names, industrial designs, brand names, brand marks, trade dress rights, Internet domain name registrations, Internet web sites and corporate names, and applications for the registration or recordation of any of the foregoing.

4.9.1.2 “Malware” means any hidden files, automatically replicating, transmitting or activating computer program, virus (or other harmful or malicious computer program) or any equipment-limiting, Software-limiting or Services-limiting function (including, but not limited to, any key, node lock, time-out or similar function), whether implemented by electronic or other means.

4.9.1.3 “Personally Identifiable Information” means personal data or information that relates to a specific, identifiable, individual person, including City personnel. For the avoidance of doubt, Personally Identifiable Information includes the following: (a) any government-issued identification numbers (e.g., Social Security, driver’s license, passport); (b) any financial account information, including account numbers, credit card numbers, debit card numbers, and other Cardholder

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Data; (c) Criminal Justice Information; (d) Protected Health Information; (e) Biometric Information; (f) passwords or other access-related information associated with any user account; and (g) any other personal data defined as personally identifiable information under the breach notification laws of the fifty states.

4.9.1.4 “Protected Health Information” or “PHI” has the same meaning as the term “Protected Health Information” in 45 C.F.R. 160.103.

4.9.1.5 “Services” or “Deliverables” shall mean the complete Interactive Voice Response solution; including the necessary software, requested integrations, and any other necessary components or hardware necessary to provide the requested solution to the City.

4.9.1.6 “Software” means computer programs, whether in source code or object code form (including any and all software implementation of algorithms, models and methodologies), databases and compilations (including any and all data and collections of data), and all documentation (including user manuals and training materials) related to the foregoing.

4.9.2 Resources Necessary for Services. Except as otherwise approved by the City, Proposer will provide and is financially responsible for all equipment, Software, and other resources needed to perform the Services in accordance with the Proposal.

4.9.3 Proposer Materials and Third-Party IP. Proposer represents and warrants that it owns, or is authorized to use, all Proposer IP, and Proposer-provided third-party IP.

4.9.4 Developed Software. Proposer represents and warrants that all developed software will be free from material errors in operation and performance, will comply with the applicable documentation and specifications in all material respects, for twelve (12) months after the installation, testing and acceptance of such developed

RFP Ref. #: 26-0263 Doc. Ref#: RFP-02 Page 10 of 16 software by the City. Any repairs made to developed software pursuant to this Section will receive a new twelve (12) month warranty period in accordance with the terms of this Section.

4.9.5 Open-Source Materials. Proposer represents and warrants that all open-source materials (OSM) included in Deliverables or Software are obtained from a trusted distributor. Unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, Proposer must maintain OSM support, including required patching and security updates, which will be provided promptly after release. The Proposer must not use any materials that allow users to modify or incorporate open-source code into larger programs on the condition that the software containing the source code is publicly distributed without restrictions, commonly known as “copyleft.”

4.9.6 Access to City Data. Proposer represents and warrants that Proposer has not and will not prevent, or reasonably fail to allow, for any reason including without limitation late payment or otherwise, the City’s access to and retrieval of City Data.

4.9.7 Malware. Proposer represents and warrants that it has not and will not introduce or cause to be introduced Malware in any Proposer IT environment at any time. If Proposer discovers that Malware has been introduced into Software, Proposer must, at no additional charge, (a) immediately undertake to remove such Malware (b) notify the City in writing within one (1) business day, and (c) use reasonable efforts to correct and repair any damage to City Data or Software and otherwise assist the City in mitigating such damage and restoring any affected Service, Software or equipment.

4.9.8 Resale of Equipment and Software. If Proposer resells to the City any equipment or Software that Proposer purchased from a Third Party, Proposer, to the extent it is legally able to do so, must pass through any such third-party warranties to the City and reasonably cooperate in enforcing them. Such warranty pass-through will not relieve Proposer from its warranty obligations set forth in this Section.

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4.9.9 Data Security. Proposer represents and warrants that (a) it will not permit any unauthorized access to or cause any loss or damage to City Data or City IP; (b) it will comply with all City security policies in place during the term of this Agreement, and (c) it will not use any system that is dependent on software or hardware that no longer have appropriate security updates available.

4.9.10 City Intellectual Property. The City retains all right, title and interest in and to all City IP. Proposer will not be permitted to use any of the City IP for the benefit of any entities other than the City.

Upon expiration or termination of this Agreement, Proposer must cease all use of City IP and must return to the City all City IP.

4.9.11 Developed Intellectual Property. Proposer hereby irrevocably and unconditionally assigns, transfers and conveys to the City without further consideration all of its right, title and interest in such Developed IP, which assignment will be effective as of the creation of such works without need for any further documentation or action on the part of the Parties. Proposer agrees to perform any actions as may reasonably be necessary, or as the City may reasonably request, to perfect the City’s ownership of any such Developed IP.

4.9.12 Property of City. All City Data is the sole property of the City.

Proposer must not use City Data for any purpose other than that of performing the Services under this Agreement. Without the City’s express written consent, no City Data, or any part thereof, may be disclosed, assigned, destroyed, altered, withheld, or otherwise restricted by Proposer or commercially exploited by or on behalf of Proposer.

4.9.13 Acknowledgment of Importance of City Data. Proposer

acknowledges the importance of City Data and that the City may suffer irreparable harm or loss in the event of such information being disclosed or used otherwise than in accordance with this proposal and subsequent agreement.

4.9.14 Data Recovery. Upon the City’s request Proposer must promptly return all requested City Data to the City or its designee in such a

RFP Ref. #: 26-0263 Doc. Ref#: RFP-02 Page 12 of 16 format that the City may reasonably request. Proposer must provide City with adequate bandwidth and other resources to remove City Data from Proposer servers. Proposer must also provide sufficient information requested by the City about the format and structure of the City Data to enable such data to be used in substantially the manner used by Proposer. Also upon City’s request, in lieu of return or in addition to return, Proposer must destroy City Data, sanitize any media upon which City Data resides in accordance to NIST Special Publication 800-88 as revised; and upon City request, Proposer must provide City with a certificate of destruction in compliance with NIST Special Publication 800-88.

5.0 METHOD OF AWARD - Proposals will be evaluated based on “best value” to the City. Proposals that receive less than 50% of the total available points, excluding price points, will not be considered for award.

6.0 EVALUATION FACTORS

To be considered, the Proposer must submit a complete Proposal by the stated deadline and in accordance with all Proposal requirements. All required documentation must be included for evaluation.

Proposals that meet these requirements will be evaluated based on the criteria listed below.

6.1 Cost – up to 15 points available

6.2 Small Business Participation – up to 20 points available

6.3 Staff Workflow Integration & Implementation – up to 25 points available

6.4 AI Performance & Document Grounding – up to 25 points available

6.5 Experience, References, & Measurable Outcomes – up to 15 points available SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM – The City of Fort Worth has established a 30% Small Business (SB) participation goal for this solicitation. This goal reflects the City’s determination that certified Small Business Firms are available to provide the goods and/or services required under this bid.

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Accordingly, at least 30% of the total awarded contract value must be subcontracted or spent with a certified Small Business Firm. All provisions and requirements outlined in City Ordinance No. 27832-08-2025 apply to this solicitation. Bidders are required to submit the following documentation with their proposal:

a. Small Business Utilization form V1 (RFP-05), detailing how the Small

Business goal will be achieved.

b. Current Small Business Certification issued by the North Central Texas

Regional Certification Agency (NCTRCA), Women’s Business Council- Southwest (WBCS), Dallas-Fort Worth Business Council (formerly DFW/MSDC), Texas Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program, Texas Unified Certification Program (TUCP) DBE/ACDBE and TxDOT SBE Directory.

Small Business Participation will be evaluated as below:

0% SB Participation = 0 points 1-7% SB Participation = 5 points 8-15% SB Participation = 10 points 16-29% SB Participation = 15 points 30% or more (goal met) = 20 points

7.0 CONTRACT AWARD PROCESS

7.1 The Purchasing Division will facilitate and manage the evaluation process.

7.2 An Evaluation Panel consisting of representatives from various City departments and City consultants may be appointed to review and evaluate RFP responses in accordance with this RFP. City reserves the right at its sole discretion to include additional representatives at any point during the evaluation.

7.3 The Evaluation Committee will evaluate responses and may select Proposer for onsite interviews, presentations or demonstrations.

7.4 At its sole discretion, the City may request Best and Final Offers (BAFO) from proposers whose proposals are deemed most advantageous. Contract negotiations will be based on the BAFO

RFP Ref. #: 26-0263 Doc. Ref#: RFP-02 Page 14 of 16 submissions.

7.5 The City reserves the right to negotiate all elements that comprise the successful Proposer’s response to ensure that the best possible consideration be afforded to all concerned.

7.6 The City reserves the right to shortlist firms based upon scores/ratings received during the evaluation process.

7.7 The City will notify all proposers in writing of the outcome once an award determination has been made.

8.0 PROPOSAL FORMAT AND ATTACHMENTS

To facilitate and expedite the evaluation process, Proposals should adequately address all evaluation factors and include the following list of required items that will be used as part of the evaluation. A Proposal may be deemed to be non-responsive and may be disqualified, at the City’s discretion, if the Proposal fails to comply with the following instructions.

8.1 Proposal Format Requirements

8.1.1 Proposal format shall be in font no smaller than 12 point, 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper size, with one-inch margins and single-spaced for the entire submitted proposal.

8.1.2 All proposal sections shall be divided by submission titles. All pages within these sections shall be uniquely numbered for purposes of easy reference.

8.2 Response forms

8.2.1 Completed and signed RFP-04 Authorized Signature and

Questionnaire.

8.2.2 Completed and signed RFP-05-Forms.

8.2.3 Completed and signed RFP-06-Small Business Utilization form and Small Business Certificate, if applicable.

8.2.4 Completed RFP-07-Deviations

8.2.5 Completed RFP-08-Reference Sheet

8.2.6 All Signed Addendum(s) acknowledging receipt. Note: If no addendum is issued, please attach a page stating “No Addendum Issued”

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8.2.7 Completed Bid Table (BT-03DH)

8.3 Technical Response

8.3.1 Proposal – detailed response to RFP-09-Proposal Questions

8.3.2 List of Exceptions/Substitutions/Clarifications/Additions

8.3.2.1 Although the Scope of Services included Project

Requirements of the solicitation represents the City’s anticipated needs, there may be instances in which it is in the City’s best interest to permit exceptions to requirements and accept proposed alternatives.

8.3.2.2 If no exceptions are taken, please include a single

document stating “No Exceptions taken” in the Required section.

8.3.2.3 It is extremely important for the Proposer to make

clear where exceptions, clarifications substitutions and/or additions to the Scope of Services, Draft Vendor Service Agreement and General Terms and Conditions are taken and how substitutions shall be provided. The City does not recognize strikeouts, deletions, or changes to Solicitation documents.

Therefore, exceptions, conditions, clarifications and/or substitutions to the provisions of the City’s requirements must be clearly identified along with the proposed addition or modification. If the Proposer does not make it clear that an addition, exception or clarification is taken, the City shall assume the Proposer is responding to and shall meet the City’s stated requirements.

8.3.2.4 Identify each exception, clarification, substitution

and/or addition by specifically referencing the page number, section number, subsection number, item number or letter, and, if necessary, paragraph, or line number.

8.3.2.5 Identify each item clearly as an addition, exception, clarification or substitution. It is not necessary to include the entire text of a particular section or

RFP Ref. #: 26-0263 Doc. Ref#: RFP-02 Page 16 of 16 subsection. However, for ease of reference, Proposers may use portions of the solicitation’s text, if helpful in explanation.

8.3.2.6 For substitutions/clarifications, provide an explanation of the difference between what the solicitation requests and what is proposed. The City is open to other means of accomplishing the requested Work.

Proposers must explain why they believe their method of accomplishing the Work is equal to or better than that specified by the City.

8.3.2.7 For any addition(s) proposed or exception(s) taken, provide a rationale in as much detail as possible.

8.3.2.8 Begin responses to the major sections of the

solicitation on a new page.

8.3.2.9 The City shall consider the number and substance of

alterations to the City’s stated requirements as a factor in determining the most advantageous response.