Dispatch Services for Campus Police & Public Safety

Longwood University, located in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP LU214-26-001) for comprehensive, continuous dispatch services to support the institution's public safety, facilities, and emergency operations. The solicitation seeks qualified contractors to provide 24/7/365 dispatch operations including call handling, incident management, triage and escalation, emergency communications, Clery Act compliance support, and system integration with existing campus infrastructure. Key deliverables include routine service request handling, emergency call processing, critical incident coordination, duty roster maintenance, detailed call logging, and full compliance with confidentiality requirements including FERPA and student records protection. Required qualifications include maintaining professional public safety dispatch center standards, employing industry best practices, providing call recording with a minimum 30-day retention period, answering 95% of emergency calls within 30 seconds, and completing critical escalations within five minutes. The contractor must also maintain appropriate insurance coverage including workers' compensation, commercial general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and employer's liability of $100,000, while complying with all applicable federal and state laws regarding data protection, confidentiality, and nondiscrimination. Evaluation criteria consist of organizational capability (25 points), implementation and transition plan (25 points), technical approach and methodology (20 points), experience and references (10 points), cost proposal (10 points), and SWaM business participation (10 points), for a total of 100 points. Proposals must be submitted electronically through eVA by April 3, 2026, at 2:00 PM ET, with an optional pre-proposal conference held on March 13, 2026, at 2:00 PM ET, and inquiries due by March 24, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET to Ryan Ferebee at Procurement@longwood.edu.

Longwood University has established a small business participation goal of 42% of its purchases and requires all offerors to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan, making SWaM (Small, Women-owned, and Minority-owned) business participation a significant evaluation factor. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the solicitation documents. The contractor must demonstrate the capability to scale staffing and training to accommodate operational variations and critical incidents, with all personnel assigned to dispatch operations required to receive initial training on university-specific protocols, procedures, systems, and Quality Assurance processes, with virtual training acceptable where appropriate subject to University approval. The contract will be awarded for an initial one-year term with up to four additional one-year renewal options at the University's sole discretion, though specific pricing and budget information is not disclosed in the available solicitation documents. Pricing proposals must cover the initial one-year contract period and each of the four optional renewal periods separately. The resulting contract may be made available to other public bodies and educational institutions under cooperative procurement provisions through VASCUPP.