Upstate Medical University (“Upstate”) intends to make an award under our discretionary authority, which is up to $125,000.00, for Event Management and Registration System services for Center of Professional Development (“CPD”) as noted below, pursuant to New York State (“NYS”) Education Law §355(5)(a) which authorizes purchases without a formal competitive process in certain circumstances, including purchases from NYS small businesses, from business certified pursuant to Article 15-A of the NYS Executive Law, and if applicable, from businesses selling commodities or technology that are recycled or remanufactured. If you are interested in providing a proposal for the above commodity or service, you must contact the appropriately designated Campus contact in this advertisement within fifteen (15) business days of this Advertised Notice. A sealed bid will not be held.
Mandatory Requirements:
Customer Experience and Stability, and Implementation
Bidder must have at least two (2) years of experience with a comprehensive university, college and community college system and/or academic centers whose tasks include planning professional development events.
The Successful Bidder (“Bidder”) must prove it is financially stable by submitting copies of financial statements (e.g., Balance Sheet, Statement of Income and Retained Earnings, Statement of Cash Flow and footnotes) for the last two (2) years, which have been prepared in accordance to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The financial statements must be provided within five (5) business days of Upstate’s request. Financial statements will be reviewed and analyzed by SUNY Upstate’s Finance Department designee. Upstate reserves the right to request additional documentation from Bidder and to request reports on financial stability from independent financial rating services.
Must meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2AA)
Provide text alternatives for all non-text content.
Make it easy to distinguish foreground information from its background.
Make all functionality operable via a keyboard interface.
Provide mechanisms to help users find content, orient themselves within, and navigate through the system.
Make the placement and functionality of content predictable (headings, titles etc.).
Support compatibility with current and future user agents (including assistive technologies).
Ensure that content is accessible or provide an accessible alternative.
Account Administration
The Bidder’s solution must allow for the assignment and maintenance of user accounts with varying levels of account and event access. The Bidder’s solution must accommodate for varying levels of access to accounts and events (e.g., a master account will have access to all data in the system; an event organizer may only have access to create and edit an event).
The solution must provide training and support during the implementation process.
The Bidder’s solution must be hosted by the Bidder and on servers that are located within the continental United States of America.
Event Management
Bidder’s solution must include Proposal/Presentation management, and Exhibitor/Sponsor management.
Bidder’s solution must allow for the creation of various types of events and to customize the registration process specific to the event (e.g., an online event may require different information than an event requiring in-person attendance.).
Bidder’s solution must meet US Section 508 Web Accessibility Standards for individuals with special accessibility needs. The Bidder’s solution must be accessible for all users (CPD admin users and client users) utilizing the system in any capacity.
Registration
The Bidder’s solution must allow an individual, or group to select a specific registration type at which point the individual/group will be directed down a branched path based on their selection.
The Bidder’s solution must allow for a variety of fees and specific start and end dates for various fees. For example, an individual may have the option to register at a discounted “early bird” rate or a higher “late registration” rate which should be automated by a specific date range.
The Bidder’s solution must allow for a registration process specific for individual, groups and exhibitors/sponsors. Specifically for the registration of a group or exhibitors/sponsors, the Bidder’s solution must allow an individual or group to register a company for an event on the company’s behalf, thus allowing an individual to designate themselves as a company’s “point of contact” or a “designated contact.”
The Bidder’s solution must allow for additional discounts based on group rates or volumes (e.g., presenter discounts [“scholarships”]).
The Bidder’s solution must allow the event managers to add multiple customizable fields to the registration process (e.g., fields to collect data on dietary restrictions, memberships to various organizations, social media accounts, departments, and alternate e-mail).
Financials
The Bidder’s solution must provide secure credit card processing, including any security certifications.
The Bidder’s solution must have the ability to accept various payment options (e.g., purchase order, check, credit card, vouchers, journal transfers).
The Bidder’s solution must allow for customized cancellation and refund policies for different types of events.
The Bidder’s solution must have the ability for CPD admin users and client users to cancel registrations and events.
The Bidder’s solution must have the ability for CPD admin users to process refunds for an individual, group, or company.
The Bidder’s solution must include the capability to customize the various payment options.
Reports
The Bidder’s solution must allow the CPD to record what courses and programs have been registered for by a specific individual across all events and/or individual events (i.e. registration type, payment method, outstanding balance, and dietary needs).
The Bidder’s solution must allow the CPD the ability to customize all of the reports that are available in the solution provided across all events and/or individual events.
The Bidder’s solution must allow the CPD to create and manipulate reports for export across all events and/or individual events.
Technical Requirements: Attached
This procurement is subject to NYS Finance Law (“SFL”) §§139 –j & –k, also known as the Lobbying Law, therefore, vendors are cautioned that the only permissible contact for this procurement is the individual(s) listed below. Contacting any other individuals at Upstate in connection with this advertisement may constitute a violation of SFL. Failure to comply with this requirement can range from no contract award to debarment from sales to any NYS agency. Please refer to the Office of General Services website at http://www.ogs.ny.gov/aboutOgs/regulations/d efaultSFL 139j-k.asp for more information on the Lobbying Law.
The successful contractor will be required to submit applicable documents related to Vendor Responsibility, NYS SFL §§139 –j & –k and NYS Tax Law Section 5-a.
The successful contractor will be required to submit valid and current NYS Workers’ Compensation and Disability forms.
NYS Small Business and businesses certified pursuant to Article 15-A of the NYS Executive Law are encourage to submit bids.
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Set Aside: No
Minority Owned Sub-Contracting Goal: 0%
Women Owned Sub-Contracting Goal: 0%
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Set Aside: No
Minority Owned Sub-Contracting Goal: 0% Women Owned Sub-Contracting Goal: 0% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Contracting Goal: 0%
Due date:08/02/2024 2:00 PM
Eastern Standard Time Contract term: 1 Year with 1 Year Renewal
County(ies): All NYS counties
Location: 750 East Adams Street Business entities awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: Events Air, Cvent
