Trade Agreement: NONE
Tendering Procedures:
Attachment: None
Competitive Procurement Strategy: N/A - P&A/LOI Only
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements:
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) - MOBILE APPLICATIONS FOR THE
CANADIAN FORCES
1. The purpose of this RFI is to seek sources of commercial and
non-commercial apps with potential relevance to the military
specifically and the Canadian security sector in general. These
apps may be used in situations such as training delivery,
garrison operations, the tactical battlefield, humanitarian
assistance, and in disaster recovery efforts. The Canadian
Defence Academy's (CDA) initial interest will focus on apps
developed on the Android and iPhone platforms that can be used
today with little or no additional research and development
expenses.
PREFACE:
2. The Canadian Forces (CF) is seeking to develop a performance
environment that supports rich and ubiquitous with 24/7 access
to network technologies, architectures of participation, and
synthetic and virtual environments. In addition to the
interagency/interdepartmental activity such as the Online
Government Advanced Research and Development Environment
(ONGARDE), rapidly evolving technology will drive more liberal
means of supporting performance with resultant international and
interagency federations sharing capabilities and advancing
common agendas. The ongoing modernization the CF performance
environment has seen increased emphasis on developing
performance support mechanisms that enables CF members to access
information and performance support tools when and where
required. Many mobile applications already available in the
public domain have the ability to support CF member job
performance and connect members with information, tools,
processes and expertise that will increase performance and
support learning.
OBJECTIVE:
3. CDA's objective is to identify apps suitable for widespread
use by military personnel as determined by subject matter
experts. The potential install base for these applications
could be in the thousands or more end-users. Additionally, the
CF may require ownership and maintenance of required servers for
the applications.
4. A pricing model that takes into consideration both the size
of the potential installation base as well as the need for the
server code should be determined. This could be accomplished
using a "per-download" cost if appropriate, as well as by using
enterprise or site-license options.
REQUESTED INFORMATION:
5. In order to meet this objective, Canada extends an invitation
to the developers of currently existing apps encouraging them to
submit a whitepaper about their product offerings. The
whitepaper should include the following:
(a) Team Composition
(1) A brief summary of the company/team including
prior/alternate work, and the team's ability to support future
maintenance work;
(2) The background on each member of the development team; and
(3) Ability and willingness to add/extend current functionality
to meet unique military needs.
(b) Name and description of the application.
(1) Origin/history of the application. Be sure to indicate any
change in source ownership if applicable and any other
conditions in which full IP ownership is not held;
(2) Characterize the application as a stand-alone (no network),
synchronized, (intermittent connectivity), or fully networked
application. Frequency of synchronization or needed bandwidth,
if appropriate;
(3) Also include the design of the application, including the
front end, back end if applicable, any synchronization
mechanisms, any network architecture if appropriate, and the
security model;
(4) If the application is currently live on an App Store,
provide links for purchasing, the product webpage, and other
relevant information;
(5) If the application is not marketed, provide current status
and roadmap; and
(6) Provide current pricing.
6. White papers should be in the following format:
(a) A one page cover sheet that identifies the contact
information including the title, organization, responder's
points of contact (names, addresses, phone number, and email
addresses);
(b) Microsoft PowerPoint slides, not to exceed four slides,
summarizing key aspects of the response; and
(c) Microsoft Word or PDF file, 12-point font, not to exceed
four pages, describing the response.
7. Application providers may also desire to provide Canada with
a copy of one or more of their apps for evaluation purposes. If
this is desired, please be sure to include access instructions
and any specific hardware requirements as needed.
8. Prior to any widespread use, all application and server
source code pertaining to the application is subjected to a
security review. Any providers that would like to submit their
source code for evaluation in advance are welcome to do so.
Please provide the URL and any login credentials required to
download a zipfile containing any relevant source code on the
contact sheet.
NOTE TO POTENTIAL RESPONDENTS:
9. This is an RFI issued solely for information gathering
purposes; this RFI does not constitute a formal solicitation for
proposals or abstracts. Canada will not provide reimbursement
for costs incurred in responding to this RFI. Respondents are
advised that Canada is under no obligation to acknowledge
receipt of the information received or provide feedback to
respondents with respect to any information submitted under this
RFI. Responses to this RFI do not bind Canada to any further
actions related to this topic including requesting follow-on
proposals from vendors responding to this RFI.
10. White paper submissions containing proprietary data should
have the cover page and each page containing proprietary data
clearly marked as containing "proprietary" data. It is the
respondent's responsibility to clearly define what is considered
proprietary data.
11. The issuance of this Request for Information does not create
an obligation for Canada to issue a subsequent RFP. It should
also be noted that no agreement to do business with any
respondent will result from this specific enquiry.
CLOSING DATE:
12. Responses to this Request for Information will be accepted
at any time until 2:00 PM (EDT) on June 29, 2012.
CONTRACTING OFFICER:
13. Suppliers interested in providing a response should submit
their response directly to the Contracting Officer by the RFI
closing date. The preferred method of response is by e-mail at:
Name: Ricky Chan
E-mail address: r••••••••@••••••••.••.ca
Delivery Date: Above-mentioned
The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any
procurement.
Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.
