Request for Proposal for Event Production with Web conferencing Services
Purpose of the Request for Proposal Economic Opportunity Studies (EOS) is a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization in Washington, DC offering analysis, training, and evaluation to local anti‐poverty agencies nationwide. EOS seeks assistance in creating a content‐rich and interactive conference in late April serving 50 on site and 150 off site participants using web conferencing. This is the first EOS conference of this nature. We are looking for an Event Production Company to help us create an experience for participants that is inspiring and engaging for all regardless of their location. This event is part of a government‐funded project and, as such, must be focused on professional content and its delivery. [There are no resources for pure entertainment or recreation.] Well‐known reductions in federal spending have affected the ability of the non‐profit community agencies we serve to fund business travel. In light of this new reality, we are seeking to produce interactive tools and media that create some of the experience of interaction that a person attending a meeting with professional peers might experience. Three professional staff members will be working on this conference with the contractor; one is knowledgeable about video production and web‐based information dissemination. The other two will be involved with the substantive on site presentations during the event in the capacity of moderators or speaker. Support staff will be involved with registration and other customer‐service tasks.DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT AND SERVICES
The Conference Experience Our conference will allow participants to exchange ideas and best practices, network with peers and hear from industry experts. This conference should be dynamic, easily accessible and useful for all participants. We want all participants to feel that they can engage and network with each other as well as with our speakers. To express this in negative terms, we do not want off‐site participants to experience only the equivalent of a series of webinars which they observe passively except for texting an occasional question to a moderator. There is a special challenge with respect to including our target off‐site participant; he or she works in government or a community‐based non‐profit organization; therefore, they typically don’t work with ‘state of the art’ office equipment or software, and they aren’t the most tech savvy.Many have limited
bandwidth. Most have only common office software packages for small organizations.
Nevertheless,
she/he needs material and advice from peers and expert at the conference to use for developing or managing their energy efficiency programs for low‐income housing.The presenters will all be on‐site. The Conference Basics o Dates: The EOS conference will be a 2 day event held in the Washington, DC area on either April 16‐17 or April 21‐25 depending on contractor availability. [We welcome proposals from
others with availability later in the spring in the event these April arrangements with venues are not carried out, but we will give priority to a proposal for assistance with an event on our preferred dates. See Optional Deliverables on p.5]] o Participants: 50‐60 on site and 100‐150 remote. o The venue selected will have webconferencing capacity with on‐site wi‐fi and accommodate up to 75 on‐site participants. o EOS will be solely responsible for recruiting speakers and providing content for the sessions. o Agenda: The conference events will be delivered from 11 AM to 6 PM both days. The conference will consist of plenary sessions with all on‐site attendees addressed by either 4‐ person panels or single speaker presentations and one block of two smaller sessions each day. At the time of the smaller sessions, only one will be webcast, but another online event will run simultaneously Venue Characteristics:
o One (1) larger room for plenary sessions with
up to75
on‐site participants. Sessions in this room will consist of either a single speaker at a podium or a panel of speakers. Bandwidth in this room will be large enough to webconferencing the plenary sessions. During these sessions, we must be prepared for Q&A with on‐site and off‐site participants. o One (1) smaller room with a dais so that two workshops/ breakouts of 25‐30 on‐site participants run simultaneously. o One (1) smaller room with high speed internet capacity for the personnel helping to facilitate the conference. We currently have choices among venues in DC and close‐in Virginia suburbs but we have not selected a location. If the contracting schedule permits, the contractor’s advice will be sought. Several appear to meet the specifications. EOS will contract DIRECTLY with the venue.Statement of Work
We are seeking an event production services contractor with the knowledge and creativity to help us provide a successful conference for our participants. This general statement of work further describes our expectations before, during and post conference. It is followed by a list of required proposal elements including specific deliverables. We are seeking a contractor with technical capacity including equipment, experience and creative ideas to provide options for delivering our content‐rich conference creating a sense of community among all attendees and prepare our participants to get the most out of their on‐site or off‐site experience. This includes establishing active online space for all participants to interact with each other including use of our social media to enhance communications among participants. In addition, for off‐site participants that may lack the bandwidth for webconferencing, the conference will offer a site or login [like a webinar site] which permits them to hear the conference audio and, if possible, follow pre‐loaded visual material that speakers are using as they speak. Bidders should give special attention to developing a feature which meets the goal of inclusion for all participants.Bidders should budget time for strategizing with and preparing EOS’ staff of three; while EOS is responsible for booking speakers and recruiting and registering participants, we expect contractor assistance in: preparing conference promotional materials, especially those describing the off‐site experiences and tools; pre‐event instruction for speakers and participants on how to get the most out of their conference experience; and Supporting EOS staff to effectively execute the conference agenda, including managing online group interaction, troubleshooting technical or participant problems and interacting with venue technical personnel as needed. REQUIRED Proposal Elements Contractor's proposal shall include the following parts as described below. Contractor’s proposal in response to this RFP will be incorporated into the final agreement between EOS and the selected Contractor. Proposals must be written that address the RFP in an order that follows these sections: 1. Executive Summary 2. Project Management Approach 3. Project Deliverables 4. Detailed and Itemized Pricing 5. Appendix: Company Overview and References 6. Appendix: Project Team Staffing 7. Appendix: Work samples 1) Executive Summary This section will present a high‐level synopsis of the Contractor’s responses to the RFP. The Executive Summary should be a brief overview of the engagement and the approach the bidder will take to the deliverables described in the body of the proposal. 2) Project Management Approach Section As noted, planning and preparation with EOS before the conference is important. The proposal should outline the work plan and milestones for the proposed project and describe how the applicant will phase each deliverable and interact with EOS in pre‐development of the project as well as during and after the event itself. The proposal should clearly state the mechanism [s] and timing of communication and coordination between EOS and the bidder Contractor will be responsible for design, production and management of the online material and interactivity. This means that the Contractor will need to provide adequate staff and equipment to each segment of the event including for webconferencing and management of an interactive web/webinar site or chat room as well as for troubleshooting on‐site and advising off‐site participants with problems. This section of the proposal should describe the process and timetable involved in: Establishing an optimal agenda for pre‐conference and on‐site interaction including set‐up for the sessions and a coordinated management approach to delivering the requirements of the contract; The time table and sequence for completing deliverables;
An approach to pre‐conference communications with registrants and speakers to ‘train’ them with respect to the technology and tools; The roles and responsibilities of EOS and the Contractor during the project; The approach to managing and troubleshooting on ‐site glitches or on‐line participant problems during the event; and An approach to preparing session hosts, presenters and participants to use the tools available.
3) Project Deliverables
1) Sessions WebconferencingFor all events: Pre-check of technology – before conference with venue technicians and on
conference days before 11 AM proceedings begin to ensure internet connections has all necessary ports opened [and not blocked by firewalls] for both inbound and outbound connection.
Please include a description of your webconferencing platform and its suitability to this event’s
requirements A. For Plenary Sessions: Panel Discussions and Speeches to Full Audience: i) Provide material and brief presentation at the Conference kickoff to prepare 50‐60 on‐site participants to make the conference technically successful and accessible to off‐site participants. ii) Provide webconferencing to off‐site participants. iii) See also On‐line community for deliverables needed at the time of Full Audience sessions iv) During on‐site transitions or meal or coffee breaks facilitate continued flow and exchanges for off‐site participants. EOS will supply discussion questions. B. Daily Workshops [breakout sessions]: Two simultaneous workshops will be more narrowly focused allowing for in‐depth dialogue. There will be webconferencing of one on‐site workshop held in the same room as the preceding plenary session. Deliverables: Webconferencing of one workshop – services same as for full session described above PLUS C. On‐line meeting management simultaneous with webconference workshop above. It could be an enhanced on‐line meeting / go‐to‐webinar type without video streaming but with images, PowerPoint and audio or video presentation, depending on the presenter. Off‐site participants will have the option of participating in another workshop which will be an ‘online –only interactive presentation with one or two speakers at the same time as the presentation just mentioned. 2) Online Community Create an interactive tool for participants to exchange views with each other and communicate questions to the speakers on‐site as well as to the conference managers DURING and between plenary and workshop session . The login and features should remain available post conference. Provide a facilitator for the online community who will manage the tool and participation during the conference. The facilitator will support attendees participating in the webconference assisting them with any connectivity issues and associated materials for the conference. Create an alternate tool for delivering conference content to those who lack the bandwidth for the webconferencing, such as pre‐loaded PowerPoint and audio. Could be go‐to‐webinar type tool. Create polling and survey tools [EOS will provide content of questions] and administer them periodically during the proceedings on the online site. Provide a tracking system that collects log‐in and log‐out data to the event and sessions with features to limit login to authorized call‐in numbers. Record all interaction on these facilities for off‐site participants for later review. Create appropriate instructional materials for distribution to all offsite attendees pre‐ conference about using the webconferencing features s including bandwidth and software requirements to successfully access the webconference.
This part of the proposal should clearly state in language non-experts [like the
staff reviewing the proposal!] can understand how the bidder will thoughtfully
create such participatory online tools to engender an inviting atmosphere of
free-flowing dialogue and ideas amongst all conference participants.
3) Social Media Set‐up social media material connected to EOS Twitter and Facebook sites and any others the bidder chooses to promote the conference and permit facilitated communication among participants during the conference. Prepare social media information and instructions for on‐site and off‐site participants with before and during conference. 4. Training and Technical Assistance to EOS Staff Strategizing with and educating EOS Staff is important before and during the conference. We place a high premium on a company that can best guide and train us on how to execute our conference vision. Contractor will commit to a reasonable number of meetings and conference calls with EOS staff and to at least one preconference call and one test run with EOS, Contractors and venue staff. 5. Off –site Participant Preparation Instructions about using the webconferencing features for online participants including bandwidth requirements, software and pre‐event set‐up actions to successfully access the webconference social media and smaller session. 6. Speaker Preparation Written instructions and [virtual] meeting with speakers prior to the event regarding
Q&A
protocol, features for optimal engagement with off‐site participants, session cues etc
. Provide orientation for speakers on Conference Day particularly on
effective use of
the equipment.
[None of the speakers are professional entertainers or performers familiar with the equipment.] 7. Equipment List Please list all pieces of equipment that you would be using at the event. Bidders must own equipment for the responsibilities specified in this RFP and are responsible for its transport. [The contractor’s equipment should be capable of shooting footage from a stage Up to 100 feet away.] (1) Contractor is responsible for supplying cameras, tripods, and other video and audio capture devices. [Venue may have equipment that can be used, but the contractor is responsible for obtaining it and using it]. (2) EOS is not responsible for damage or loss of contractor’s equipment. Contractor must show proof of insurance covering liability for damages to the venue or to the equipment of a third party. Optional Deliverables: These are not required to qualify a bid, and EOS may not have the Budget for these services if available. Online Registration portal Recordings of the on‐site Sessions. Proposal for Alternative dates in May. If a superior proposal is submitted by a bidder who is available for dates in May, but not our April dates, we reserve the right to consider changing the conference plan. DETAILED AND ITEMIZED PRICING Include a cost itemization by service and deliverables, and estimates of reimbursable expenses. EOS reserves the right to negotiate for a different mix of deliverables to arrive at an affordable package, and itemization will help if choices are necessary. a) The Bid should contain a fixed cost for the entire project, including a very specific list of products and services to be delivered. b) The Bid should contain firm delivery date or dates. Bidders are encouraged to include a schedule for delivering sub‐parts of the project. We encourage an interactive exchange especially in the early stages of the project development and design. Award of the contract resulting from this RFP will be based upon the most responsive Contractor whose offer will be the most advantageous to EOS in terms of cost, functionality, and other factors as specified elsewhere in this RFP. EOS reserves the right to: • Reject any or all offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation or liability to any potential Contractor, • Accept other than the lowest priced offer Negotiate with bidders regarding modification of the proposed services and/or costs.PROPOSAL SUBMISSION & Deadline A proposal no longer than 12 pages [not including Appendixes] should be emailed to [email protected] by noon Wednesday March 19. Bidder questions and conference call: EOS will answer written questions about the RFP through March 11 and we will post all questions and answers on the RFP page at www.opportunitystudies.org. On March 11 at 3:30 pm, we will hold a recorded conference call to answer questions from interested parties. We will post the recording on the same page. PLEASE INFORM US BY EMAIL IF YOUR COMPANY WISHES LOG‐IN INFO FOR THE BIDDERS CALL ON March 11. APPENDIX A (COMPANY OVERVIEW) & REFERENCES Provide the following company INFORMATION: • Official registered name (Corporate, D.B.A., Partnership, etc.), Dun & Bradstreet Number, address, main telephone number, toll‐free numbers and WEBSITE • Key contact name, title, address (if different from above address), direct telephone email. • Person authorized to contractually bind the organization for any proposal against this RFP. • Brief history, including year established and number of years your company has been offering virtual online conferencing. Provide three current references for which you have performed similar work. APPENDIX B (PROJECT TEAM STAFFING) Provide the titles and short descriptions of responsibilities for all staff involved in this event. Provide key staff contact information to EOS including name, email address and direct phone number. APPENDIX C Provide a list of recent webconferencing events that the company has produced and examples of work that EOS can access as examples of your productions.
