1. Purpose/Background

Introduction

Legislative agenda management processes for local governments have many challenges: highly manual activities, paper-dependent with little to no automation, much back-and-forth on documents before approval.

These challenges become that much more difficult during live legislative instances (hearings, business meetings) with the real-time aspect of the discussion and decisions being made, coupled with the need to produce audio and video records of these events.

Finally, in a post-COVID19 world, we must adapt and find new ways to interface with our constituents that is both informative and engaging.

This RFP’s intent is to find a Meeting agenda automation & streaming solution that is adapted to this modern world and implement this solution before June 2021.

Agenda Management

The staff in the Boulder County Commissioners’ Office currently uses Granicus’ IQM2 solution for agenda management, webstreaming meeting proceedings, and archival.

Video

The Boulder County Commissioners’ Office currently uses IQM2, which is high-definition, cloud-based solution which currently accepts four (4) HDMI video inputs from cameras and multimedia outputs from the Commissioners’ Hearing Room.

Constituent Engagement

In a modern world where opinions and public engagement are stated not only in person but also very much online, Boulder County ideally wants to offer a solution that tailor to these options.

Ideally, we want to offer a solution that has various means to engage with our constituents, whether in person or online (phone, internet): Publish agendas, participate in meetings, offer ways to follow and interact with specific topics being discussed, access historical information, etc. …

Video Streaming

Our current video environment consists of three distinct parts:

1. Hardware camera, projector, and audio inputs in our on-site hearing room which are routed through switchers, digital signal processors, and controllers into a local video production computer. As a result of the pandemic, meetings have been held remotely in recent months via videoconferencing applications (Zoom and Microsoft Teams.)

2. The local video production computer utilizes WireCast production software to mix and output an audio/video feed from on-site meetings. Remote meetings are managed through Xsplit video production software to feed Teams and Zoom from a laptop off-site.

3. An on-site Granicus encoder receives the audio/video feed via HDMI from the local video production computer as generated in WireCast. Granicus encoder integrates text data from their agenda management automation system to create hyperlinked time-stamps to the audio/video feed while streaming that feed to the public through the Granicus-generated public portal. Public portal is a storage repository for text and multimedia files, features search utility and hosts live and archived hearing streams, incorporating the solution’s time-stamp data into hyperlinked agendas and minutes.

The proposed solution must address the third part of the system, ingesting a produced video feed into a solution which provides additional features related to the aforementioned agenda automation and further described in the business requirements.

*Solutions with integration of joint on-site and off-site videoconferencing participants are of additional interest and should be detailed if available.

2. Written Inquiries

All inquiries regarding this RFP will be submitted via email to the Boulder County Purchasing Office at purchasing@bouldercounty.org on or before 2:00 p.m. January 8, 2021. A response from the county to all inquiries will be posted and sent via email no later than January 15, 2021.

Please do not contact any other county department or personnel with questions or for information regarding this solicitation.

3. Submittal Instructions

Submittals are due at the email box only, listed below, for time and date recording on or before 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time on January 29, 2020.

RFP 7190-20

RFP 7190-20 Requirements

The attached addendum supersedes the original Information and Specifications regarding RFP # 7190-20 where it adds to, deletes from, clarifies or otherwise modifies. All other conditions and any previous addendums shall remain unchanged.

Please note: Due to COVID-19, BIDS will only be accepted electronically by emailing purchasing@bouldercounty.org.

RFP #7190-20 Addendum 1