Owosso Community Engagement Platform RFP.pdf

Request for Proposals (RFP)

Community Engagement Platform

City of Owosso, Michigan

Issue Date: Sept 11, 2025

Due Date: Oct 7, 2025 @ 3:00 PM

Section I: General Information

A. Introduction

The City of Owosso (the “City”) is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to provide a cloud-based community engagement platform. The solution must allow the City to collect, analyze, and report public input in an equitable, transparent, and user-friendly manner.

B. Description of City

Owosso, Michigan, incorporated in 1859, has a population of approximately 14,500 residents and operates under a Council-Manager form of government. The City seeks to enhance its engagement with the public on topics ranging from infrastructure investments and policy changes to planning projects and community events.

C. Project Goals

- Broaden opportunities for resident participation beyond in-person meetings and social media.

- Provide data-driven insights into community sentiment.

- Ensure equitable engagement with underrepresented populations.

- Increase transparency through public-facing dashboards.

D. Public Records

All responses submitted will become public record, subject to Michigan’s Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA).

E. RFP Coordinator Nathan Henne, City Manager

City of Owosso

301 West Main Street

Owosso, MI 48867

Email: Nathan.henne@ci.owosso.mi.us

Phone: (989) 725-0568

F. RFP Schedule

- RFP Issued: 9/11/2025

- Deadline for Written Questions: 9/26/2025

- Responses Issued: 10/3/2025

- Proposals Due: 10/7/2025 @ 3 PM

- Vendor Selection and Council Approval: 10/20/2025

- Kickoff Meeting: TBD mailto:Nathan.henne@ci.owosso.mi.us

Section II: Proposal Evaluation

The City will evaluate proposals based on:

1. Responsiveness to RFP – clarity, completeness, compliance.

2. Ability to Perform – experience with municipalities, especially in Michigan.

3. References – quality of service and support.

4. Cost Proposal – overall value over a 3-year lifecycle.

Section III: Proposal Response

Vendors must submit proposals in the following format:

1. Cover Letter / Executive Summary

2. Table of Contents

3. Company Profile and Qualifications

4. References

5. Functional Requirements Response (matrix provided in Section IV)

6. Technical Requirements Response

7. Cost Proposal (detailed 3-year projection)

8. Implementation Plan and Timeline

9. Signature Page

The desired information in each of these sections is described below.

Cover Letter / Executive Summary The cover letter should contain the name of the proposing Company, the business address of the proposing officer(s), and the contact individual to whom questions shall be submitted. Contact information should include telephone number, fax number, mailing address, and email address. The cover letter must be signed by a person or persons authorized to bind the proposer.

The proposer shall include a brief summary that includes the factual aspects of the response, experience and qualifications of the proposer, staff, consultants and subconsultants and/or suppliers.

Table of Contents The contents of the proposal shall be included in an index at the beginning of the proposal and should include all contents and attachments.

Company Profile and Qualifications

Please respond to the following company profile questions; be as concise as possible.

1. Provide the full name and principal address of the company, as well as the distance of your nearest office to Owosso City Hall and the location that will support the City.

Include the state in which the Company is incorporated and the date of incorporation.

Give a brief overview of the general background and services provided by your firm, including size of organization, description of organization structure, number of years in business and experience in implementing Agenda Management Software for governmental entities.

2. Provide the address of the location that will support the City for the program implementation. List of the staff at that location committed to the product and the phone support and on‐site support available. Provide staff resumes with job descriptions and other detailed qualification information for staff likely to be involved in the implementation of the product at the City.

3. Indicate if any affiliates, including subcontractors or sub‐consultants, will be used to fulfill the contract requirements.

4. List municipal government clients of the vendor in Michigan who are using your product.

5. Discuss the Vendor first‐tier customer support and how second‐tier support is provided. Include the hours first tier support will be available, after hours support available and documented response time for critical issues and non‐operational impacting issues. Include a description of Tier 2 support and the documented response times back to the Vendor for a client issue that has been promoted to the Second-Tier support entity resolving the issue.

6. If your company is selected, please be prepared to show your financial strength by providing a copy of your company’s financial statements for the past two years.

References Provide a minimum of three (3) client references of similar sized and/or municipal accounts which the proposer has served over the past two years and/or is currently serving. Provide a contact person, telephone number, and email address for each reference customer.

References in Michigan would be most relevant. Also include a list of all Vendor’s municipal projects in the last five (5) years and the timeliness in which they were completed and any other relevant information.

Section IV: Functional Requirements

The Vendor shall be responsible to furnish, install, integrate, data transfer, train and maintain a software system that will meet the requirements defined in this RFP and in the Functional Requirements.

Please submit a detailed description of the software and integrations. This description should address workflow, calendar capabilities, item creation, user defined access levels including internal and public viewing options, agenda development, minutes creation, security, reporting, search options, auditing, appointment management, capability to synchronize with video streaming and integrate with Laserfiche.

Please address the following Functional Requirements criteria:

(Key: M=mandatory, D=desired, O=optional)

A. Engagement Tools

Req

Priority Description Base/Add-

On/Custom

Comments

1 M Supports online surveys with customizable question types (multiple-choice, open-ended, ranking).

2 M Provides digital polling/voting tools for quick feedback.

3 M Integrates AI into data gathering and analysis

4 D Interactive mapping tool for geographic feedback

(e.g., drop a pin on a map).

5 O Allows gamification

(points/rewards for engagement).

B. Equity & Accessibility

Req # Priority Description Base/Add-

On/Custom

Comments

6 M ADA/WCAG 2.1

accessibility compliance.

7 M Multilingual support

8 D SMS/text message input for residents without internet access.

9 O Ability to distribute paper survey responses into the system manually.

C. Analytics & Reporting

Req # Priority Description Base/Add-

On/Custom

Comments

10 M Provides real-time analytics dashboards.

11 M Tracks demographics of respondents (age, zip code, gender, etc.).

12 M Measures sentiment analysis across open-text responses.

13 D Compares input to census benchmarks for representativeness.

14 M Exports data to Excel, CSV, or PDF.

D. Transparency & Public Access

Req # Priority Description Base/Add-

On/Custom

Comments

15 M Provides public dashboards with aggregated results.

16 M Allows residents to track project updates and see feedback outcomes.

17 D Email notification system for updates on selected topics.

E. Security & Privacy

Req # Priority Description Base/Add-

On/Custom

Comments

18 M Data encryption in transit and at rest.

19 M Role-based access for

City staff.

20 M Compliance with

GDPR/CCPA-style data privacy protections.

21 D Ability to anonymize sensitive resident data.

Section V: Technical Requirements

- Cloud-based SaaS solution.

- Supports concurrent logins across multiple departments.

- Works seamlessly on iOS and Android mobile devices.

- Requires no client-side installations.

- Provides uptime SLA of 99.9%.

- Vendor-managed hosting, patches, and upgrades.

- Must integrate with the City’s website and social media platforms.

Section VI: Cost Proposal

Vendors must provide:

- Setup and onboarding costs.

- Licensing costs (per seat vs enterprise).

- Annual maintenance and support costs.

- Optional module/add-on pricing.

- Three-year total cost of ownership.

Section VII: Implementation Plan

Vendors should include:

- A proposed project plan with milestones.

- Training plan for City staff.

- Support model (helpdesk hours, escalation process).

- Typical implementation timeframe for municipalities of similar size.

Section VIII: Terms and Conditions

- The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

- All proposals must remain valid for at least 90 days.

- The successful vendor must enter into a professional services agreement with the City.

- The City will not reimburse costs for preparing or submitting proposals.

SIGNATURE PAGE

On behalf of , I hereby submit this proposal for OWOSSO

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM RFP for your consideration. The undersigned acknowledges that this proposal is subject to the General Conditions and the General

Specifications included in the contract documents. In submitting this proposal, it is understood that the right is reserved by the CITY to reject any and all proposals and waive any irregularities in the bidding process. The CITY may award this contract based on any combination of the total bid and/or alternates.

Bid proposal by (Name of Firm):

Please check the appropriate box and USE CORRECT LEGAL NAME.

Corporation State of Incorporation:

Partnership List of names:

DBA State full name:

Other Explain:

Name, Title, Email of Contract Signer:

Signature of Bidder:

Print Name and Title:

Address:

City, Zip:

Telephone:

Email Address(Bidder):

Signed this Day of 2025

Bidder acknowledges receipt of the following Addenda:

ADDENDUM NO: BIDDER’S INITIALS: