ROBONATION, INC.Contact Information: Julianna Smith, humans@robonation.org, (571) 239-9345View the official Request for Proposal document.View Attachment 1: Requirements List.Project Summary and Objectives
RoboNation’s program portfolio includes nine educational programs with
populations ranging from K-12 students and educators to experienced
professionals at the top of their respective technical fields. These programs
include a variety of engagements hosted in both virtual and physical
environments, including community and stakeholder forums, competitions, and webinars.
The focus of this project is to align the systems software needs across
our programs and events. The current
systems have been in place for 2+ years and the system requirements have evolved
as we continue to streamline processes across programs and expand the reach of
the organization’s programs.
The project’s primary objective has been identified as increasing
efficiency. With the utilization of a new system, RoboNation intends to:
Automate workflows
Integrate systems approach (including existing platforms)
Utilize the system(s) effectively
Following this top priority, other priorities include:
Managing Costs
User/Customer Experience
Reporting Functionality
Project Budget:
up to $60,000 (annual cost)
Project Timeline
RFP Issue Date
June 23, 2021
Vendor System Demo Period
June 28 – July 15, 2021
Vendor Proposal Submission Deadline
July 16, 2021
Vendor Proposal Review Period
July 19-30, 2021
Vendor Selection Target Date
July 30, 2021
System Implementation Period
August 1, 2021 – September 30, 2021
System Go-Live Target Date
October 1, 2021
About RoboNation |
www.robonation.org
RoboNation, Inc. (previously the AUVSI Foundation) began operation in
2009 with generous support from AUVSI and three founding partners – SolidWorks,
Northrop Grumman and Insitu (a Boeing company).
Today, RoboNation is an independent, tax exempt, 501(c)3 nonprofit whose
mission is to provide a pathway of hands-on educational experiences that
empower students to find innovative solutions to global challenges. Working
together with the industry, research, and educators, we have grown to include
over nine student competitions and programs and engage more than 250,000
students per year.
Current and Past Systems
The diverse platforms represented in the table
above reflect differences in how events (primarily competitions) are structured
and the challenges in finding a single system to meet the overall needs of our
end-to-end event management process, from registration to awards.
For example, registrations for RoboNation
competitions are typically submitted by teams or schools, as opposed to
individual person registrations.
Depending on the competition, registration fees are charged as a flat
fee per team or calculated based on number of team members and coaches. One RoboNation competition includes a
majority of minor attendees and registration includes optional add-ons to the
main competition registration (ex. housing, meals and parking).
Competitions typically involve submissions of
technical papers, videos, or other submissions.
These submissions must be evaluated by a cadre of judges, the
evaluations collected, and all scores are tallied to determine competition
winners.
Project Scope
The contract with selected
Vendor is expected to be in effect for three years. It is desired that the
selected Vendor will:
Advise RoboNation staff in
the design and configuration of the system,
Provide training and
on-boarding support during implementation, and
Provide ongoing support
throughout the use of the system (i.e. email/phone/chat support) with no longer
than a 24-hour turnaround for responses.
The ideal solution will be to have a single system that can meet all requirements. However, we are aware that no single system or platform is likely to meet all our needs and that we may need to consider more than one system.
Vendor Selection Criteria
Demos will be scheduled from June 28 – July 15, 2021 with interested Vendors. Vendors should provide answers to the following criteria in their written proposals submitted by July 16, 2021.
1. How long has the Vendor
been in business? When was the proposed system first developed?
2. Can the Vendor provide
examples of current customers use-cases?
3. What percentage of the Vendor’s
customers are non-profit organizations?
4. What systems component(s) can the Vendor address? (See Appendix A)
5. What is the annual cost? Are there any additional set-up/implementation fees? (Provide a breakdown of cost by system component [Appendix A], if possible.)
6. Will there be any
anticipated fee increases during the contract)? (RoboNation is looking for a
three-year contract.)
7. What are the license fees
for the system if it is going to be used on multiple devices by multiple staff?
8. Is the initial staff
training included in the cost as presented in the proposal? If not, how is the cost
calculated (e.g., by individual, by hour, by day), and what is the cost?
9. Does the Vendor offer an
after-hours or emergency service hotline? If so, is there an additional cost
for that service?
10. Does the maintenance
agreement include ongoing training for new upgrades and features?
11. What network security
features does the Vendor provide?
12. Does the Vendor provide
encryption options for the data? If so, what are the additional costs, and how
are they calculated?
13. How does the Vendor protect
personally identifiable information (PII)? Are there any specific protections
for PII from minor (under 18 years old) registrants?
14. What is the Vendor’s
dispute resolution process?
15. What is the process to
terminate a relationship with the Vendor and stop paying any fees?
System Requirements
Appendix A outlines the system components included within this RFP.
Appendix B illustrates how components are connected.
Appendix C outlines high level requirements. Detailed requirements are captured in an Excel document as Attachment 1. The requirements in Attachment 1 are sorted first by the Components, found in Appendix A. Further categorization is provided in columns for Secondary Component (provides a breakdown of the requirement’s specific component) and Requirement Type (provides a breakdown of requirement types across components). Column I is available for any comments or questions the Vendor wishes to submit to the Project Team with the proposal by July 16, 2021.Appendix
A: System Components
The
following is a list of system
components. A diagram illustrating how components are connected can be found in
Appendix B.
Registration software automates the process of registering for competitions, conferences, meetings, classes, and other events.
Registrants (by team):
– Up to 2,000
– Up to 6,500
– Up to 10,000
Registrants (by individuals):
– Up to 10,000
– Up to 35,000
– Up to 40,000
Administrative staff:
– Super Admin: 10
– Mid-level Admin: 125
Priority = 1
Engagement/Event Management
Coordination and scheduling of events.
Administrative staff: 10
Virtual Event Management
Coordination and scheduling of events virtually with live streaming tools that can be viewed on multiple devices.
Administrative staff: 30
Submission Management / Evaluation
Automates the process of collecting and evaluating/judging documents for competition events.
Automates the process of awarding prizes, grants, complimentary non-monetary products.
Administrative staff: 10
Priority = 3
Merchandise
Enables RoboNation to conduct transactions for goods and services over the web. This includes Event Housing.
Administrative staff: 10
*Accounting/reporting integrations and/or capabilities are important considerations within each of the above system components. RoboNation’s accounting system is NetSuite. Appendix B: System
Components Ecosystem DiagramAppendix
C: High Level Requirements
Detailed requirements are captured in an Excel
document as Attachment 1.
Registration
/ Event / Competition Requirements
Component
Special
Notes
Notes
Multi-Step (Stage) Registration
Team
registration (preferable using user ID / password, not e-mail), Multi-stage and
registration capability for multiple event components
Required
/ Multiple registrations tied to single e-mail
(Preferred)
Vetting Process
Registration
vetting/approval using code, e-mail, question, or required uploaded
submissions (document, image, or video)
Required
Payment
Multiple
payment methods, including checks and Purchase Orders, with coupon code
capability
Required
Data Security
Data security
meets all current standards, including those for information from minors
Required
Custom Registration Form
Ability
to customize registration page with logo, colors, custom questions / fields
Required
Submission Upload Capability
Ability
for registrants to upload submissions using multiple formats – multi-page documents,
images, videos / Upload tied to multiple event components
Required
Review Capability
Blind
review capability of uploaded submissions / scoring using up/down voting and
customized review form including comments with scores tallied by event
component (multiple rubrics (1 per event component) / sharable scores and
comments / ability to leave comments for staff/admins only
Required
Communications
Ability
for event organizers to communicate with attendees (individually and in bulk,
manually and automated) and track communication within the platform. Customizable communication templates
needed.
Required
Bulk Processing
Ability
to bulk qualify teams and mark them as approved with automated messaging tied
to process
Required
Judge Access
200
external judges with access to rubrics for each event component (not tied to
admin seats) / Bulk invitation capability / manual and automated assignment
of judges to individual submissions
Required
/ Automated Assignment – Preferred
Reporting
Download
complete registration submission data including customizable reports, manual
and automated scheduling for report downloads
Required
Labeling / Tagging
Customized
labels/tags applied to submissions to track registration process
Preferred
Attendee Access
Multiple
team members able to contribute to single team application / Ability to save
/ edit form until admin closure
