Request for Proposals ORION Impact Study: An RFP to Determine ORION's Social and Economic Impact in Ontario
Request for Proposals ORION Impact Study: An RFP to Determine ORION's Social and Economic Impact in Ontario Issuer: ORION Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network Issue Date: October 27, 2014 Submission Deadline: 4:00pm on November 14, 2014 Closing Location: ORION 360 Bay Street, 7th Floor Toronto, Ontario M5H 2V6 Closing Instructions: Three (3) hard copies of the proposal must be delivered and one (1) electronic copy in Microsoft Word or PDF format. No faxed or telephone proposals will be accepted. Each proposal should be sealed and clearly marked: CONFIDENTIAL - Proposal for ORION Impact Study (Round 2) ATTENTION Dr. Darin PW Graham, President/CEO ORION Contact Person: Ali Hirji Nexus Research & Project Coordinator ORION 416-507-9860 x232 ali.hirji@orion.on.ca
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD... 4 1. Introduction... 5 2. Purpose of the Request... 6 3. Term of the Contract... 6 4. RFP Timelines... 6 5. Scope of the Services... 7 6. Instructions to Respondents... 9 7. Terms and Conditions... 10 8. Evaluation Process and Criteria... 12 Ontario s Backbone of Innovation.
FOREWORD As ORION enters the next phase of creating a long-term strategy, ORION is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced consulting firms to conduct a social and economic analysis of the impact of ORION on Ontario's research, education and innovation (RE&I) landscape, its impact on Ontario's economic growth, and its future impact based on a transformational strategy concerning our role as a critical element in Ontario s digital infrastructure. ORION's network upgrade to 100Gbps and the addition of several cloudbases services over the last few years has changed Ontario's RE&I ecosystem and our effect on it. The purpose of this impact analysis is to provide ORION with updated information and recommendations, as our previous study was completed in 2010. 4
1. Introduction ORION is a not-for-profit corporation, dedicated to connecting and supporting all of our research, education and innovation (RE&I) users throughout Ontario. As Ontario s backbone of innovation, we are recognized as providing leadership and critical infrastructure that allows users to collaboratively engage in making Ontario a global leader in innovation. With one of the world s fastest RE&I networks, we enable our users to connect to a world of possibilities. By linking them through our network to a variety of strategic partners, we deliver a collection of unique value-added capabilities that enhances their pursuit of knowledge, social impact and economic outcomes every day. ORION brings together over 100 Ontario institutions - including universities, colleges, research hospitals, school boards, cultural agencies and several others - in a shared, private network. ORION has been successful in leveraging our province s investments in research, innovation, education and training, and expanding our collective c apabilities beyond institutional walls. This network serves over two million users in Ontario. Originally started in 2001 with Ontario government support for the initial infrastructure implementation, ORION is now operationally self-sustaining. Our revenue is based mainly on fees from connected institutions and entities. We are an Ontario success story as we are one of the few recent Ontario-initiated projects that has become self-sufficient ORION has not received Ontario government funding since 2006. Researchers need advanced networks like ORION to allow them to fully participate in global research projects and scientific collaborations. Some examples include: Mining the human genome data Finding cures for disease and developing new vaccines Modeling climate change Assessing environmental impacts Exploring the universe Advanced computing Beyond research, ORION is instrumental to education and learning in Ontario. Providing connectivity to almost all of Ontario's colleges, universities and over 36 of the largest public education school boards (representing over 70% of the K- 12 enrollment), Ontario's students are receiving their education through online connectivity over ORION s network. This internet access provides support for bring-your-own-device capability and advanced experiential learning that will change the future of education. ORION has nearly 6000km of optical fibre that reaches from Ottawa to Windsor, and as far north as Thunder Bay and Timmins. ORION s over 30 Points of Presence (PoPs) are the major locations to which are member institutions are connected. Through our regionally distributed network we provide equal access to all of our users. That is, regardless of where they are in Ontario, they have the same opportunity to connect to ORION s leading edge network and access some of the fastest bandwidth available. In March of 2011, ORION become the first 100Gbps operational network in Canada - beating the major telecommunications giants - and the first network in the world to deploy a 100Gbps production network to support research and education. With this enhancement, many of our organizations have been able to upgrade their connections to 10Gbps. ORION handles nearly 100 terabytes of data a day on the network and the usage is growing at a rate of over 50% annually. ORION is a key element in the economic impact of innovation in Ontario. A n independent study (completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers in February 2010) illustrates that ORION has an annual economic impact of $166 million within Ontario, including $147 million contribution to Ontario GDP, and supports almost 2,200 jobs in Ontario. Leveraging the high-capacity network infrastructure, ORION is working closely with Ontario s small and medium-sized businesses to provide additional solutions to connected users through cloud services known as the ORION Nebula. The 5
ORION Nebula will provide solutions for online collaboration, digital education, hosting services, interactive content management tools, computing cycles, and vital data storage and access capabilities. The increased use of cloud and shared services by our institutions is only expected to grow over the next few years. ORION's long-term strategy is focused on the 5 C's of digital infrastructure: Connectivity The need for broadband is growing exponentially and the underpinning of any digital infrastructure is the capability of a reliable, fast, effective and efficient network this is ORION's raison d'etre. Computing There exists a strong group of major academic and health based advanced computing organizations that enable Ontario's researchers, all of which are linked together via the ORION network. Content The amount of research and educational data being generated is exploding, and all of it needs to be stored and accessed from multiple locations. ORION's connectivity to private and public data centres enables users to securely store, access and share their vital data. Cloud The world is already embracing cloud services, and with ORION partnering with world-class service providers, our RE&I users have an effective suite of cloud-based resources though the growing ORION Nebula. Community No single person or entity can do it alone any more, as strategic partnerships have become extremely important. ORION has a unique role of bringing together the necessary groups (research, government, education and commercial organizations) in the diverse RE&I ecosystem. Simply put, ORION is the "backbone" of the education, research and innovation lan dscape in Ontario and provides the connectivity for them to the rest of Canada and the world. 2. Purpose of the Request As ORION enters the next phase of creating a long-term strategy, ORION is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced consulting firms to conduct a social and economic analysis of the impact of ORION on Ontario's research, education and innovation landscape, its impact on Ontario's economic growth, and its future impact based on a transformational strategy concerning our role as a critical element in Ontario s digital infrastructure. ORION's network upgrade to 100Gbps and the addition of several cloud-bases services over the last few years has changed Ontario's RE&I ecosystem and our effect on it. The purpose of this impact analysis is to provide ORION with updated information and recommendations, as our previous study was completed in 2010. ORION released an RFP similar to this document on September 22, 2014. As a result of the feedback and received submissions, ORION decided not to pursue that RFP. Instead, we are releasing this updated RFP (Round 2) with more specific tasks and fewer needed elements, as well as to provide more details in the form of an outline of the approach implemented in the previous 2010 study in order to help respondents better focus their submissions. 3. Term of the Contract The term of the contract between ORION and the Successful Respondent shall commence on the start date established within the contract (with an estimated start date of December 1, 2014) and will continue for a term of approximately two (2) months. All deliverables must be provided to ORION at the close of the contract. Once established, an extension to the contract can only be implemented by a signed written amendment to the contract. 4. RFP Timelines ORION plans to adhere to the following timelines as closely as possible. ORION reserves the right to modify this 6
timeline at any time. Request for Proposals released October 27, 2014 Deadline for submitting questions November 13, 2014 at 4:00pm Submission Deadline November 14, 2014 at 4:00pm Selection/Notification to Successful Respondent November 21, 2014 Contract Start December 1, 2014 Contract Completion (estimated) January 30, 2015 5. Scope of the Services 5.1. Key Objectives ORION has established the following key objectives for the analysis: To estimate and communicate the social and economic value of ORION to our stakeholders, user groups and the governments of Ontario and Canada. To provide a value estimation of an investment towards creating a larger and faster network, and services, to meet the growing needs of existing and potential new users. 5.2. Analysis Elements In keeping with the key objectives, the Successful Respondent will be expected to prepare a socio-economic analysis that includes the following elements: An estimate of the social and economic impact of ORION on Ontario s economic output since 2010. An assessment of the number of jobs created and supported by direct, indirect and induced effects associated with the ORION network. Outline ORION s importance and positioning in Ontario s innovation ecosystem. Estimate the market size of cloud and shared services that ORION's institutions could use for their research, education and administration activities, and the estimated portion of that market that ORION could support through its connectivity. An estimate of the potential impact of a $25 million investment in ORION (increased bandwidth and larger network reach), if made by the Government of Ontario or other investment group, on Ontario s economic output. What is the estimated future value of that investment on ORION's stakeholders and users? Stakeholder recommendations for increasing the future impact of ORION on the RE&I community. 5.3. Approach used in 2010 Study The main objective of the 2010 study by Pwc was to provide qualitative economic analysis to help ORION in its business case to obtain funding to upgrade the network from 10Gps to 100Gbps. The basic scope of the study included: 7
Evaluating the current economic benefits facilitated by ORION, and Estimating the future economic benefits associated with the upgrade to ORION As outlined in the sections above, the scope of this RFP remains essentially the same as that of the previous study. The following approaches were used in the 2010 study to estimate the economic value of ORION and the resulting benefits of upgrading the network: Stakeholder Interviews/Literature Review: Sixteen (16) stakeholders, representing some of the leading research organizations in Ontario were interviewed to obtain quantitative and qualitative information about the impact ORION has on researchers and their organization s day-to-day activities. In addition, stakeholders were asked to comment on the overall importance of ORION in its facilitation of discover and applied research in the interests of Ontario and Canada. The stakeholder interviews and the literature review were also used to provide inputs into the simple models developed to quantify the economic value of ORION and its proposed upgrade. Current Quantitative Benefits Facilitated by ORION: To quantitatively assess the current economic value of ORION, the economic impacts that ORION facilitates were estimated. While research infrastructure like ORION produces many qualitative benefits for an economy (e.g. descriptive success stories of ORION s users), the measurement of economic impacts of the study were focused on quantitative, well established measures of economic activity. The most commonly used of these are typically gross output, value added (or gross domestic product (GDP)), and employment. To estimate these economic impacts, stakeholders were asked to comment on the number of researchers that are actively using ORION. This information was used to drive the calculation of wider economic impacts in Ontario and Canada. Benefits of the Proposed Upgrade to ORION: To estimate the benefits of upgrading the network to 100Gbps, the time savings associated with the proposed upgrade compared to the scenario where the network was not upgrades was used as basic parameter. Using standard economic assumptions, total time savings were monetized and evaluated relative to the estimated cost to upgrade ORION. This high-level approach was meant to illustrate the magnitude of the benefits of upgrading in a quickly growing network utilization environment. An executive summary and a one-page summary of the 2010 report is available upon request. 8
5.4. Report Deliverables The Successful Respondent, at the completion of the contract, will provide a final report, analysis and recommendations as the primary deliverable. This document may be made public in whole or in part. The report document must clearly identify the results corresponding to the above objectives and elements. In addition to the final report, supporting material that must be provided, includes but not limited to: Outline of the methodology employed Details and summaries of interviews conducted Comparative analyses Any other related reference material used The deliverables, including the final report, will become proprietary property of ORION. 6. Instructions to Respondents 6.1. Proposal Delivery All items in this section are mandatory requirements. Respondents who fail to fulfill meet these requirements will receive no further consideration during the evaluation process. The proposal must be received at the closing location by the specified closing date and time. The proposal must be signed by a person authorized to sign on behalf of the Respondent. The proposal must be in English. Three (3) hard copies of the proposal must be delivered and one (1) electronic copy in Microsoft Word or PDF format. No faxed or telephone proposals will be accepted. 6.2. Proposal Content All proposals should include the following information: An Executive Summary. A brief profile of the responding entity with confirmation of their understanding of the service required, objectives, and outcomes. A description of the methodologies to complete the analysis including a detailed outline of the proposed work plan schedule outlining the tasks, products and project timelines for completion including key milestones, coordination meetings, briefings, etc. Proposed cost - A fixed-price budget based on the major components of the scope of work and to include all costs such as professional services, supplies, estimated travel and out-of-pocket expenses. The Respondent needs to provide written confirmation of their independence and that they have no conflict of interest related to ORION. The names and detailed information of the individuals who will be working on the project, including their resumes/qualifications, their areas of responsibility and the specific experience of the individu als relative to the proposed project. 9
Demonstration of qualifications to undertake this project with a description of experience similar to this project, particularly in the communications and information technology sectors. References for three different clients, including company name, contact name and phone number, as well as a brief description of services performed. Identification of all information and support required from ORION to complete the analysis. 7. Terms and Conditions 7.1. General The award is subject to recommendation by ORION's President & CEO and approval by the Board of Directors. All firms submitting a proposal for consideration must disclose any conflict of interest in the proposal, or immediately upon discovery of a conflict of interest during the proposal process. The proposal is irrevocable and is open until submission closing date and time. No adjustments to the proposal will be accepted after the proposal has been received. ORION reserves the right to withdraw, at its discretion, this RFP at any time, and shall not be liable for any cost incurred by the bidder as a result of this withdrawal. ORION reserves the right to reject, at its discretion, any or any part of the proposal and also reserves the rig ht to award assignment based on other factors than solely lowest fee structure. Fees shall be quoted exclusive of HST. HST must be added to the total of the amount proposed. A confidentiality agreement will have to be signed prior to any ORION materials being provided. While the Successful Respondent is expected to outline a sound approach and methodology for the analysis, it is expected the Successful Respondent, in addition to reviewing all information provided by ORION during the course of the contract, would consult/interview a representative group of key stakeholders including colleges, universities, district school boards, research facilities and other ORION users. ORION will assist with this interaction as best as possible. All related information will be considered confidential. No work may be assigned by the firm without prior written consent from ORION. ORION reserves the right to terminate this agreement should the nature of its operations change or any operations currently being conducted cease to exist, which would result in services no longer being required or in a material change in the nature of the organization. ORION reserves the right to obtain clarification on any aspect of the proposal. This clarification will not alter the proposal or cost structure provided. 7.2. Indemnity The Successful Respondent shall indemnify and save harmless ORION, its directors, officers, employees and agents, against and from all actions, causes of action, interest, claims, demands, costs, damages, expenses including defense costs or loss which ORION may bear, suffer, incur, become liable for or be put to by reason of any damage to property or injury or death to persons by reason of, arising out of or in consequence of breach, violation of non-performance by the successful bidder of any provision of this agreement, or by reason of or arising out of the use of the premises or in connection with the work covered by this agreement, or by reason of or arising out of any act, neglect or default or 10
omission by the successful bidder or of any of its officials or employees or any other person or persons, in, on, or about the premises. The rights to indemnity contained in this paragraph shall survive any termination of this agreement, anything in this agreement to the contrary notwithstanding. 7.3. Insurance In connection with this indemnification by the firm, the firm agrees to purchase and maintain in force at its expense, including the payment of all deductibles, a policy of Professional Liability Insurance, acceptable to ORION in the amount of not less than $1,000,000, and to deliver a Certificate of the Policy originally signed by an authorized agent of the insurance company issuing the policy and a Certified copy of the Policy to ORION upon the firm s execution of this agreement. It is expressly provided that the Policy is: Not to be construed as a limit on the liability of the vendor in provision of goods or the performance by the vendor of its services under this agreement Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, kept in force and effect for a period of time ending no sooner than one (1) year after completion of the project To be in a form and with an insurance company acceptable to ORION 7.4. Respondents Expenses Respondents are solely responsible for their own expenses in preparing a proposal. If the ORION elects to reject all proposals and/or withdraw the RFP, neither ORION nor its Board will be liable to any respondent for any claims, whether for costs or damages incurred by the respondent in preparing the proposal, loss of anticipated profit in connection with any final agreement, or any other matter whatsoever. Further to the preceding paragraph, a respondent, by submitting a proposal, agrees that it will not claim damages, for whatever reason, relating to the agreement or in respect of the competitive process, in excess of an amount equivalent to the reasonable costs incurred by the respondent in preparing its proposal and the respondent, by submitting a proposal, waives any claim for loss of profits if no agreement is made with the respondent. 7.5. Acceptance of Proposal This Request for Proposal should not be construed as an agreement to purchase services. ORION is not bound to enter into an agreement with any respondent that submits the lowest priced proposal or with any respondent. No respondent will acquire any legal or equitable rights or privileges relative to the services prior to full execution of a written agreement for the services required. 7.6. Liability for Errors While ORION has used considerable effort to ensure an accurate presentation of information in this Request for Proposal, the information contained in this Request for Proposal is supplied solely as a guideline for respondents. The information is not guaranteed, or warranted to be accurate, by ORION, nor is it necessarily compreh ensive or exhaustive. Nothing in this Request for Proposal is intended to relieve respondents from forming their own opinions and conclusions with respect to the matters addressed in this Request for Proposal. 7.7. Modification of Terms ORION reserves the right to modify the terms of this Request for Proposal at any time in its sole discretion. This includes the right to cancel this Request for Proposal at any time prior to entering into an agreement with a successful respondent. 7.8. Ownership of Proposals 11
All documents, including proposals, submitted to ORION become the property of ORION. 7.9. Confidentiality of Information This document, or any portion thereof, may not be used for any purpose other than the submission of proposals. Under a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement, ORION may make general organizational, technical and financial information available to the respondent during the proposal development, as well as during any awarded contract to a Successful Respondent. Information pertaining to ORION obtained by a respondent as a result of participation in this process is confidential and must not be disclosed. At the termination of the selection process, all materials and information which are the property of ORION and supplied to the respondent by ORION are to be delivered forthwith to ORION. 7.10. Governing Law This RFP and all matters related thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and applicable federal laws of Canada; and all Respondents shall agree to submit any disputes arising out of this RFP or any matters related to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the Province of Ontario. The terms and conditions of this RFP shall not be subsumed by any resulting Contract and may continue to be enforceable by ORION independent of such Contract. 8. Evaluation Process and Criteria 8.1. Evaluation and Selection ORION will first check proposals against the mandatory requirements. Proposals not meeting all mandatory requirements will be rejected without further consideration. Proposals that meet all the mandatory requirements will be assessed and scored against the criteria for assessment. Only the information contained in the proposal will be used to evaluate the proposal. The respondents should not expect there to be an opportunity to supply additional information to ORION beyond the information contained in the proposal. If during the selection process ORION believes that there is a short-list of potential respondents, ORION may choose to have a select group of respondents provide a brief presentation outlining their methodology and approach. The determination of having a presentation opportunity, if any, is at the sole discretion of ORION. This material will be considered as part of the respondent's proposal. 8.2. Unsuccessful Proposals At the conclusion of the Request for Proposal process, all proponents will be notified. 8.3. Rating Criteria Proposals meeting the mandatory requirements will be assessed against the criteria noted below. Content: knowledge and understanding of the economic analysis deliverables i.e. the scope of work and purpose of the study. 25% Experience: demonstrated professional skills and credentials of the staff to be assigned to the project, experience and capabilities of its leads and staff; availability of resources to ensure deadlines are met in 25% 12
a timely manner; ability of the respondent s engagement personnel to relate well to and work effectively with ORION s staff; and reliability and results, based on feedback from references. Completeness of Proposal: including work plan, methodologies, timelines to meet expectations, etc. 25% Price: overall costs and fees to be charged 25% TOTAL 100% 13