Request For Information
(RFI)for
Evaluation Services

RFI-2017-0008

Key Dates:

Final Date to Submit Questions: / Monday, November 20, 2017
Noon
Send to
Optional Telephone Q&A Session: / Wednesday, November 22
3:30 pm
Email to receive dial-in information
Answers to Questions Emailed to All Inquirers: / Thursday, November 23, 2017
11:59pm
Complete Information By: / Tuesday, November 28, 2017
11:59pm
Send to

Late, facsimile, or hard copy responses will not be accepted or considered.

Table of Contents

1.0 Background

2.0 Purpose of RFI

3.0 Description of Services to be Procured through an RFP

4.0 Timeline and Estimated Budget

5.0 Information Requested

6.0 RFI Submission Instructions

7.0 Terms of RFI

7.1 RFI Not a Formal Competitive Bidding Process

7.2 RFI Shall Not Limit Pre-Existing PSHSA Rights

7.3 Pricing Information Not Requested

7.4 Parties Shall Bear Their Own Costs

7.5 Accuracy of Responses

7.6 Submissions Property of the PSHSA

7.7 Confidential Information of the PSHSA

7.8 Confidentiality of Respondent’s Information

7.9 Communications

7.10 Use of Names or Logos

7.11 Errors and Omissions

7.12 Right to Termination

APPENDIX A - Respondent Acknowledgement Form

1.0 Background

The Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) serves Ontario's public service sector, including universities, colleges, school boards, municipalities, health and community care organizations, and emergency services.We assist over 9,000 organizationsachieve safer and healthier work environments for their 1.4 million workers by helping themidentify and reduce workplace risks and hazards, and thereby preventing workplace injury, illness and disease.

2.0 Purpose of RFI

This RFI is seeking further information from interested bidders to assist the PSHSA in drafting clear business requirements for an RFP for evaluation services. The evaluation results will be used to inform quality improvement decision-making, and to support knowledge transfer of workplace violence prevention/management tools to healthcare organizations across Ontario.

3.0 Description of Services to be Procured through an RFP

The PSHSA is seeking responses to this Request for Information (RFI) to enable the PSHSA to develop a clear Request for Proposals (RFP) for the evaluation of four tools designed to address violence in healthcare workplaces.

Specifically, the four tools that the PSHSA wishes to evaluate are:

Workplace Violence Risk Assessment Tool (WVRAT)

Flagging

Security

Personal Safety Response System

The “Individual Client Risk Assessment Tool” is excluded from the scope of this RFI.

These tools were developed as part of Phase 2 of a three-phrase project; a summary of the project and the toolkit can be found on the PSHSA’s website.

The interactive version of the tools can be found at Each tool includes information about its intended benefits and outcomes.

Through the future RFP process, the PSHSA will be seeking one or more vendors to conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of these four tools. In the simplest of terms, the PSHSA will seek to answer the following questions:

  1. Do any or all of these tools achieve what each is designed to do? Have the tools been implemented? Have workplace behaviours changed, and if so, can the change be linked to the tool(s)?
  2. Do any or all of these tools help reduce the frequency and/or severity of incidents of workplace violence in the healthcare sector?
  3. Do any or all of these tools help improve the healthcare organizations’ management of incidents of workplace violence?
  4. What can be learned from the implementation of these tools that can inform future initiatives to reduce the frequency and severity of incidents of workplace violence in the healthcare sector?

4.0 Timeline and Estimated Budget

The evaluation of the four tools listed above must be completed within 18 months of commencement. PSHSA anticipates work to commence in late January 2018 or early February 2018, and has an approved budget of up to $250,000.

5.0 Information Requested

Responses to this RFI should address the following questions. If a bidder decides to exclude a response to any question, please provide a brief explanation. Bidders are welcome to provide any other information that may be helpful.

a)How could PSHSA frame the evaluation objectives and the evaluation questions for each tool?

b)What types of research study design(s) and statistical analyses would be most relevant? How can the evaluation design balance time, budget, and statistical validity?

c)What factors/indicators should be measured to assess the effectiveness of these tools?

d)What data collection instruments exist to measure the recommended factors/indicators?

e)How many workplaces (i.e. hospitals) and/or users should be included in order to ensure statistical validity of the evaluation results?

f)How can the evaluation be designed to account for confounding variables that affect/inhibit assessment of the effectiveness of these tools?

g)Can the evaluation of these four tools be conducted independently of one another, clustered into pairs, or should they be evaluated together?

h)How could the evaluation results be effectively conveyed to stakeholders?

i)Can the timeframe of 18 months encompass baseline, mid-point, and post-implementation information-gathering? What would be the most cost-effective structure of an evaluation plan to fit within the 18-month timeframe? If a longer or shorter timeframe is advisable, how could the evaluation plan be structured?

j)How could the research community be engaged in the development of an evaluation framework?

k)What qualifications should the evaluators have?

l)What else should PSHSA address in the RFP in order to maximize the success of the evaluation exercise?

6.0 RFI Submission Instructions

  • RFI schedule:
  • November 13: RFI posted
  • November 20, noon: deadline for bidders to submit questions to
  • November 22: prescheduled telephone info session – bidders who wish to attend the telecon must email their interest to in order to receive the telecon information
  • November 23: deadline for PSHSA to email answers to bidder questions
  • November 28, 11:59pm: deadline for bidder responses to RFI
  • PSHSA reserves the right to change the terms of this RFI. In the event that PSHSA changes the RFI terms, PSHSA will re-post the RFI with a new deadline. Subject to the responses to this RFI, PSHSA reserves the right to change or cancel its plans for the prospective RFP.
  • Bidders are asked to provide their response according to Questions a) – l) above. Bidders may add any additional comments as an appendix.
  • PSHSA expects to issue the RFP in early December 2017 and will allow at least three weeks for responses.
  • PSHSA expects to award the contract(s) for evaluation services by mid-January 2018, with work to commence by late January or early February. PSHSA is amenable to modifying the workplan schedule with the successful vendor(s) at the time of contract execution.

7.0 Terms of RFI

In responding to this RFI, each respondent should submit a completed and signed Respondent Acknowledgement Form(Appendix A) that, among other things, acknowledges its acceptance of the RFI Terms as contained herein:

7.1 RFI Not a Formal Competitive Bidding Process

This RFI is being issued for information gathering purposes only. PSHSA shall not be bound or obligated in any manner as a result of issuing this RFI to enter into contract negotiations, or to conclude a contract. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, PSHSA expressly reserves the right, at its sole discretion, (i) to initiate any form of procurement process including without limitation direct negotiations with any Respondent regardless of whether such Respondent responded to this RFI; or (ii) to elect not to procure the good or service that is the subject of this RFI.

7.2 RFI Shall Not Limit Pre-Existing PSHSA Rights

This RFI shall not limit any pre-existing PSHSA rights. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the PSHSA expressly reserves the right, at its discretion:

(i)to seek subsequent information or initiate discussions with any supplier, including suppliers who did not respond to this RFI;

(ii)to initiate direct negotiations for the procurement of any good or service with any supplier or suppliers regardless of whether the supplier or suppliers responded to this RFI;

(iii)to contact a limited number of suppliers, which may be limited to those who responded to this RFI, or may include suppliers who did not respond to this RFI, for the purpose of a competitive procurement for the procurement of any good or service;

(iv)to elect to proceed by way of open tender call where all potential suppliers, including those who did not respond to this RFI, are eligible to compete for the award of a contract for the supply of any good or service; or

(v)to elect not to procure the good or service that is the subject of this RFI.

These expressly reserved rights are in addition to any and all other rights of the PSHSA that existed prior to the issuance of this RFI.

7.3 Pricing Information Not Requested

The PSHSA expressly excludes request for specific pricing information in this RFI. Any pricing information provided by respondents is for general information purposes and is not intended to be binding on respondents. Any legally binding pricing or purchasing commitments will only be established where specified by the express terms of a subsequent tender call process or where established through the execution of a written agreement.

7.4 Parties Shall Bear Their Own Costs

The PSHSA shall not be liable for any expenses incurred, including the expenses associated with the cost of preparing responses to this RFI. The parties shall bear their own costs associated with or incurred through this RFI process, including any costs arising out of or incurred in: (a) the preparation and issuance of this RFI; (b) the preparation and making of a submission; or (c) any other activities related to this RFI process.

7.5 Accuracy of Responses

The respondent acknowledges that the information provided is, to the best of its knowledge, complete and accurate.

7.6 Submissions Property of the PSHSA

Except where expressly set out to the contrary in this RFI or in the respondent’s submission, the submission and any accompanying documentation provided by a respondent shall become the property of the PSHSA and shall not be returned.

7.7 Confidential Information of the PSHSA

All information provided by or obtained from the PSHSA in any form in connection with this RFI either before or after the issuance of this RFI:

(a) is the sole property of the PSHSA and must be treated as confidential;

(b) is not to be used for any purpose other than replying to this RFI;

(c) must not be disclosed without prior written authorization from the PSHSA; and

(d) shall be returned by the respondents to the PSHSA immediately upon the request of the PSHSA.

7.8 Confidentiality of Respondent’s Information

Information provided by a Respondent and all or a portion of the proposal itself, even if identified as being confidential, may be used, reproduced, and disclosed by PSHSA, and on a confidential basis, to third parties retained by PSHSA in connection with the subject matter of this RFI, including without limitation, for the purposes of evaluating the information.

7.9 Communications

All contact and questions with regard to this RFI must be made by email to .

PSHSA reserves the rights to not answer a Respondent’s question. The reasons for this may be:

a)The information requested is not needed for the preparation of a submission, or

b)The answer to the question posed can be found in the RFI, or

c)The answer to the question posed is the purpose of the RFI.

PSHSA will provide answers to questions only in accordance with the RFI schedule, in order to maintain fairness of the procurement process.

Unless otherwise notified, the time required by PSHSA to answer questions will not change the deadline specified for submission of a proposal.

7.10 Use of Names or Logos

The Respondent shall not use the PSHSA name or logo or associated names or logos or make reference to this RFI in any advertising copy or other promotional materials or messages without prior written consent.

7.11 Errors and Omissions

PSHSA shall not be held liable for any errors or omissions in any part of this RFI. While PSHSA has used considerable effort to ensure an accurate representation of information in this RFI, the information contained in the RFI is supplied solely as a guideline for potential companies. This information is not necessarily comprehensive or exhaustive. Nothing in the RFI is intended to relieve the company from forming their own opinions and conclusions with respect to the matters addressed in the RFI.

7.12 Right to Termination

PSHSA may, in its sole discretion, cancel this RFI or revise the scope of this RFI at any time.

Page 1 of 9

APPENDIX A - Respondent Acknowledgement Form

RFI-2017-0008

Evaluation Services

Respondent’s Registered Legal Business Name:
Mailing Address:
Name of Contact Person:
Title:
Contact Person Tel.#:
E-mail Address:
Website Address:

The Respondent hereby acknowledges:

(i)that the information it is providing is, to the best of its knowledge, complete and accurate;

(ii)that the information it is providing, and all or a portion of the proposal itself, even if identified as being confidential, may be used, reproduced, and disclosed by PSHSA on a confidential basis to third parties retained by PSHSA in connection with the subject matter of this RFI, including without limitation, for the purposes of reviewing the information;

(iii)that PSHSA shall not be liable for any costs incurred by the respondent in the preparation of its proposal;

(iv)that all materials submitted to PSHSA by the Respondent shall become the personal property of PSHSA and shall not be returned;

(v)that, as elaborated upon in Section 7.1, this RFI is for information gathering purposes only and does not create any legal obligations or restrict PSHSA rights regarding the future procurement of any good or service.

(vi)that a benefit has not been conferred of any kind on anyone employed by or connected with PSHSA, for the purpose of influencing the outcome of procurement.

Signature of Witness: / Signature of Respondent representative:
______/ ______
(I have authority to bind the Respondent).
Name of Witness (print): / (corporate seal)
Name:
Title:
Date:

Page 1 of 9