Collaboration Innovation Hub

*Please note that the ISC website will be available on August 17, 2023 at 10:30am EDT.*

*AMENDMENT 001 - An attachment has been added. The document contains questions and answers related to the Challenge.*
*AMENDMENT 002 - An attachment has been added. The document contains questions and answers related to the Challenge.*

This Challenge Notice is issued under the Innovative Solutions Canada Program (ISC) Call for Proposals 003 (EN578-20ISC3). For general ISC information, Bidders can visit the ISC website at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/101.nsf/eng/home

Please refer to the Solicitation Documents (https://canadabuys.canada.ca/en/tender-opportunities/tender-notice/pw-2…) which contain the process for submitting a proposal.

Steps to apply:
Step 1: read this challenge
Step 2: read the Call for Proposals : https://canadabuys.canada.ca/en/tender-opportunities/tender-notice/pw-2…
Step 3: propose your solution here : https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/innovative-solutions-canada/en/collabo…

Challenge title: Collaboration Innovation Hub
Challenge sponsor: Shared Services Canada (SSC)

Funding Mechanism: Contract
MAXIMUM CONTRACT VALUE:
Multiple contracts could result from this Challenge.

Phase 1:
• The maximum funding available for any Phase 1 contract resulting from this Challenge is : $150,000.00 CAD excluding applicable taxes, shipping, travel and living expenses, as required.
• The maximum duration for any Phase 1 contract resulting from this Challenge is up to 6 months (excluding submission of the final report).
• Estimated number of Phase 1 contracts: 5

Phase 2:
Note: Only eligible businesses that have successfully completed Phase 1 will be invited to submit a proposal for Phase 2.

• The maximum funding available for any Phase 2 contract resulting from this Challenge is : $1,000,000.00 CAD excluding applicable taxes, shipping, travel and living expenses, as required.
• The maximum duration for any Phase 2 contract resulting from this Challenge is up to 18 months (excluding submission of the final report).
• Estimated number of Phase 2 contracts: 2

This disclosure is made in good faith and does not commit Canada to award any contract for the total approximate funding. Final decisions on the number of Phase 1 and Phase 2 awards will be made by Canada on the basis of factors such as evaluation results, departmental priorities and availability of funds. Canada reserves the right to make partial awards and to negotiate project scope changes.

Note: Selected companies are eligible to receive one contract per phase per challenge.

Travel
No travel is anticipated in Phase 1. Project meetings will be conducted via video conferencing.

Problem statement:

Challenge Statement Summary
The challenge is to provide a collaboration/innovation hub that addresses missing operational capabilities for SSC and other departments and organizations. The hub will make it more efficient for users to contribute to innovative, emerging and future technologies by alerting them to problem spaces which are not currently addressed.

Details:

Essential Outcomes
Proposed solution must:
1. Be an internal area for Government of Canada (GC) dialogue;
2. Identify and label Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) based on their skills and expertise;
3. Allow Machine Learning (ML) to auto-populate SME profiles and biography based on various data sources (e.g. Human Resources information) and based on user’s engagement in the portal;
4. Use standardized categories to identify user’s organizational chart location, technology expertise, certifications, and skills;
5. Allow for in-hub data collection from multiple sources such as (surveys, voting, on-line questionnaires, etc.) and feed the results back to users' profile, as well as to the dashboard hub;
6. Allow for the auto-discovery of new partners, connections, and SMEs in the same or similar areas of expertise through searchable user profiles and technology subjects;
7. Enable collaboration and interaction spaces (such as communicating through forums, polls, private messaging, whiteboards etc.) for the development of ideas;
8. Allow users to work together remotely using spaces for document and event sharing between stake holders and users to support the exchange and development of idea;
9. Send notifications to users on new SMEs, topics, discussion, innovation, research, and solutions;
10. Enable the creation of collaboration groups, taskforces, panels, or committees (e.g. panel of experts dedicated to discussing innovation, or Tiger Teams to solve problems);
11. Report on all users’ top conversation topics and subjects of interest;
12. Offer Bi-lingual support (French and English) and have a user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI); and
13. Be able to manage the access levels of all users (e.g., authorize innovation ideas input from private sector, students, academia).

Additional outcomes
The proposed solution should:
1. Link users to basic technical guidance for different technologies recommended by subject matters;
2. Offer seamless translation features;
3. Be future proof (i.e supporting unlimited number of users and ability to expand to multiple groups and departments);
4. Be able to promote innovative projects throughout the entire hub to strengthen their innovation capacity;
5. Allow expert stakeholders to grade and evaluate ideas based on the subject weight;
6. Support gamification of engagement with some form of reward for contributors. This includes the ability to up-vote; and
7. Support creation of self-managed groups to collaborate on innovative projects.

Background and context
An innovation collaboration hub is a type of workspace designed to promote interaction, community, and teamwork between stakeholders. While they can come in many different types, collaboration hubs are typically characterized by flexible integrated breakout spaces, and adaptable communication forums.
This opportunity will allow SSC members to interact and engage through the hub for the goal of pushing forward innovative ideas, facilitate collaboration, and strengthen SSC cohesion. The evolution of the workplace into virtual space has created collaborative opportunities that are not leveraged to their fullest extent. This has become even more evident in SSC’s operations, which relies on many geographically dispersed teams and employees, and innovative partners which have difficulties communicating and innovating between teams.