Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) - Request for Proposal - Unified Communications and Contact Center Solutions

Canoe Procurement Group of Canada is posting this notice of solicitation on behalf of CivicInfo BC, RMA, SARM, AMM, LAS, UMNB, NSFM, FPEIM, MNL, NWTAC, NAM, AYC and its current and potential Members and represented Associations and their Members, which includes all MASH/MUSH sectors, Provincial Governments, Federal Agencies, Crown Corporations, local Governmental and other not-for-profit organizations located in all provinces and territories in Canada including but not limited to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Yukon Territories and Nunavut. Request for Proposal ("RFP") to result in regional and/or national contract solutions under the rules and regulations of Canadian trade agreements (including Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) Chapter 5, Ontario-Quebec Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Chapter 19, New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA), Atlantic Trade and Procurement Partnership (ATPP) as applicable).

Canoe/Sourcewell is requesting proposals for Unified Communications and Contact Center Solutions
in a national contracting solution for use by its members.

A full copy of the Request for Proposals can be found on the Sourcewell Procurement Portal [https://proportal.sourcewell-mn.gov]. Only proposals submitted through the Sourcewell Procurement Portal will be considered. Proposals are due no later than September 29, 2026, 3:30 pm Central Time, and late proposals will not be considered.

Members include thousands of governmental, higher education, K-12 education, not-for-profit, tribal government, and other public agencies located in Canada. A full copy of the Request for Proposals can be found on the Sourcewell Procurement Portal [https://proportal.sourcewell-mn.gov]. Only proposals submitted through the Sourcewell Procurement Portal will be considered. Proposals are due no later than September 29, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. Central Time, and late proposals will not be considered.

Sourcewell, a State of Minnesota local government unit and service cooperative, is requesting proposals for Unified Communications and Contact Center Solutions to result in a procurement solution for use by its Participating Entities. Sourcewell Participating Entities include thousands of governmental, higher education, K-12 education, nonprofit, tribal government, and other public agencies located in the United States and Canada. Sourcewell encourages the use of Small, Minority-owned, Women’s Business Enterprise, Veteran-owned Business Enterprise (S/M/WBE/VBE) suppliers both as prime and subcontractors and encourages the participation of these suppliers in the solicitation process. A full copy of the Request for Proposals can be found on the Sourcewell Procurement Portal [https://proportal.sourcewell-mn.gov]. Only proposals submitted through the Sourcewell Procurement Portal will be considered. Proposals are due no later than September 29, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. Central Time, and late proposals will not be considered.

Requested Equipment, Products, or Services

It is expected that proposers will offer a wide array of equipment, products, or services at lower prices and with better value than what they would ordinarily offer to a single government entity, school district, or regional cooperative.

Sourcewell and Canoe are seeking proposals for Unified Communications and Contact Center Solutions providing comprehensive feature and function complements, including:
a. Unified communication solutions, such as: VoIP technology and UCaaS, video or audio collaboration and conferencing, mobility options, mass notification, and enhanced messaging;
b. Contact center solutions, such as: CCaaS, automatic call or contact distribution and routing, omnichannel capability, interactive voice response, real-time status, reporting, and analytics;
c. Other unified communications and contact center-related products and services offering in conjunction with and directly related to the solutions described in Sections 1.a–b above, including architecture, implementation, migration, ongoing support, hardware, software, integrations, number porting, deployment services, and related applications for premises-based, cloud-based, or hybrid environments.

Proposed solutions may include AI-enabled capabilities only to the extent such capabilities are embedded in, integrated with, or directly supportive of the Unified Communications or Contact Center Solutions proposed.

Proposers may include directly related equipment, accessories, and services to the extent that they are complementary to the primary solutions being proposed.

The primary focus of this solicitation is on Unified Communications and Call Center Solutions. This solicitation should NOT be construed to include:
a. Service providers and wireless service providers whose proposed offering is limited to network-related products and services ONLY, without an accompanying Unified Communications, Contact Center, or Call Center Solution;
b. Telecommunications expense management (TEM), cost savings or cost avoidance audit services;
c. Consulting services only; or
d. Broker or reseller agents without direct solution ownership, authorized partnership, or substantive value-add (e.g., implementation, support, integration).

This solicitation does not include equipment, products, or services covered under categories included in pending or planned Sourcewell solicitations, or in master agreements currently maintained by Sourcewell, identified below:
a. Wireless Voice and Data Services with Related Solutions, Equipment, and Accessories (RFP #031924);
b. IT Managed Service and Staff Augmentation Solutions (RFP #071321); and
c. Public Safety Software (RFP #030425) except for those complementary and directly related to solutions in section 1a. – 1b. above

Generally, the solutions for Participating Entities are turn-key solutions, providing a combination of equipment, products and services, delivery, and installation to a properly operating status. However, equipment-only or products-only solutions may be appropriate for situations where Participating Entities possess the ability, either in-house or through local third-party contractors, to properly install and bring to operation the equipment or products being proposed.

Sourcewell prefers suppliers that provide a sole source of responsibility for the equipment, products, and services provided under a resulting master agreement. If proposer is including the equipment, products, and services of its subsidiary entities, the proposer must also identify all included subsidiaries in its proposal. If proposer requires the use of distributors, dealers, resellers, or subcontractors to provide the equipment, products, or services, the proposal must address how the equipment, products or services will be provided to Participating Entities, and describe the network of distributors, dealers, resellers, and/or subcontractors that will be available to serve Participating Entities under a resulting master agreement.

2. The term of any resulting contract(s) awarded by Sourcewell under this solicitation will be four years. Sourcewell and supplier may agree to up to three additional one-year extensions based on the best interests of Sourcewell and its Participating Entities. Sourcewell retains the right to consider additional extensions beyond seven years as required under exceptional circumstances.

3. A full copy of the Request for Proposals can be found on the Sourcewell Procurement Portal [https://proportal.sourcewell-mn.gov]. Only proposals submitted through the Sourcewell Procurement Portal will be considered. Proposer’s complete proposal must be submitted through the Sourcewell Procurement Portal no later than the date and time specified in the Solicitation Schedule. Any other form of proposal submission, whether electronic, paper, or otherwise, will not be considered by Sourcewell. Only complete proposals that are timely submitted through the Sourcewell Procurement Portal will be considered. Late proposals will not be considered. It is the Proposer’s sole responsibility to ensure that the proposal is received on time.

4. Following submission of proposals, negotiations may be permitted.

5. List of current and Potential Members and represented Associations and their Members which includes all MASH/MUSH sectors, Provincial Governments, Federal Agencies, Crown Corporations, local Governmental and other not-for-profit organizations located in all provinces and territories in Canada including but not limited to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Yukon Territories and Nunavut located here, https://canoeprocurement.ca/canoe-current-future-memb…