The District of Squamish “District” is requesting information, advice and insight from interested parties to identify potential partnerships and innovative solutions for civic issues to support an application to Infrastructure Canada’s Smart Cities Challenge.
This RFI is intended to gather information that could assist the District in the development of a future partnership process.
District Overview
Squamish, located midway between Vancouver and Whistler, continues to experience strong growth. In 2016, it was listed as one of the top 25 fastest growing Canadian communities with a population over 5,000, reaching 19,512 residents. This was a 13.7% increase over the 2011 Census and was significantly higher than the provincial growth average (5.6%) and the national growth average (5%). The bulk of housing growth in the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) between 2016 and 2036 is expected to occur in Squamish (42%). Squamish is also expected to continue to capture a greater proportion of children and families in the Sea to Sky Corridor, and is an increasingly popular choice for families looking for more affordable alternatives to Metro Vancouver.
RFI Purpose:
The District is exploring an application to Infrastructure Canada's Smart Cities Challenge (“The Challenge”). The goal of The Challenge is to solve local civic issues to improve the life of residents through the application of data and technology. The application deadline for The Challenge is April 24, 2018 and requires extensive community consultation, the development of a “Challenge Statement” and supporting detail.
The District recently completed its Official Community Plan, Squamish2040, which identifies community priorities from the provision of affordable housing, to the need for local, regional and commercial transportation solutions, natural environmental and resource management, to sustainable food systems and emergency services. To support priorities outlined in Squamish2040, The District seeks innovative, viable, cost effectively and timely solutions. As such, The District recognizes the potential for The Challenge to present these solutions and identify partnerships to address priorities through innovative data and technology.
While The District is striving to submit an application to The Challenge to meet the April 24, 2018 deadline, an application may be delayed until a subsequent Challenge round or not be made as an outcome of the initial application phase.
This RFI is to seek potential partner(s) and solution(s) for the development of a Smart Cities Challenge application. The District is, at this time, exploring a broad spectrum of potential Challenge themes, solutions and partnerships and may, as a result of this process, proceed with the development of more than one solution and partnership regardless of Challenge outcome.
Public, private and institutional partners, including private-sector, not-for-profit, public utilities, research/academia, civil society, public or national organizations/groups and project incubators are encouraged to submit their interest to The District.
Key Requirements:
Respondents are requested to provide a concise and focused response. Responses are requested in the following format:
Submitting parties should:
- demonstrate their expertise and capacity to provide technology solutions to civic priorities as defined by District of Squamish’s OCP, Squamish2040
- demonstrate through their proposal the clear linkage between civic priorities and desired outcomes
- be able to meet timelines associated with Challenge implementation requirements (measurable outcomes within a 2-5-year timeframe of project onset)
- demonstrate their commitment to support initial and full application stages (capacity, expertise, timelines, key and supporting resources and financing)
Proposed projects Shoud:
- provide potential solutions to civic issues which benefit residents through the application of data and technology
- demonstrate how potential solutions are replicable, scalable for other communities across Canada
- be innovative, transformative and ambitious, with specific and measureable outcomes/goals
- provide open standards and be interoperable with existing infrastructure where possible
- be robust, flexible and accommodating to changing circumstances (e.g. population growth)
- reflect a forward-thinking approach
- do not lock District of Squamish with a specific vendor in any way the hinders the community or other communities from leveraging the data for other uses through open data and in-house analytics
- serve or enable other purposes where possible
All responses to this RFI become the property of the District and will be held in confidence, subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Respondents to this RFI consent to the District incorporating any submitted ideas, concepts, approaches, or strategies into any planning, design, procurement, or contractual activities related to any aspect of the project without any obligation, liability, or consideration on the part of the District.
This RFI is not an invitation to tender or request for proposal or other competition. By participating in this RFI, respondents expressly agree that no contract of any kind is formed under, nor any legal obligations whatsoever will arise out of this RFI. The District will not be responsible for any costs incurred by any vendor in responding to this RFI.
