Local Government Moves Ahead with E-Portal

Many states - such as Utah, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Idaho and others - have been aggressively pursuing the construction of a robust e-government portal. Now while some smaller states haven't even begun the pursuit of such a project, some cities and counties may just impress state leaders. Just take for example the City of Tampa that is developing an e-government RFP to give citizens access to its government services 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

The city is looking for a strategic partner to assist in developing creative solutions to provide Web-enabled software applications and support services that will allows citizens to conduct business with the city over the Internet. The project, called Tampa Electronic Government Portal, will require many types of electronic transactions. These features are as follows:

• The ability for the city to send documents and forms to members of the public and persons who are regulated by the city.
• The ability for the city to receive applications for licenses and permits and receive documents for filing from members of the public and persons who are regulated by the city that, when a signature is necessary, can be electronically signed by the member of the public or regulated person.
• The ability for the city to receive required payments from the public and persons who are regulated by the city.

The city intends to award a contract to a single supplier that will be responsible for all requirements of the RFP and deliverables. The city also intends the portal to be developed, operated and funded solely by the supplier. The winning supplier will meet several objectives, including:

1. Complete a self-supporting framework for the development and implementation of electronic government for the city.
2. Establish an online payment system for applications.
3. Provide customer information services.
4. Support the Tampa Electronic Government Portal through an outsourced partnership with a contractor: the contractor may be responsible for all aspects of maintaining and supporting the portal. This includes but is not limited to the security and directory server, licenses for all software, hardware required for the system, development of API links to applications, customer relations management, and help desk support.
5. Establish policies and procedures to govern the user of the portal subject to the approval of the city.
6. Create a common format for applications accessed through the portal.

The significant dates for the RFP are as follows:

• May 31, 2000: Pre-Proposal Conference
• June 7, 2000: Proposer Questions and Clarification Deadline
• June 14, 2000: Responses to Proposer Questions
• July 6, 2000: RFP Response Submission Deadline

Suppliers who have any questions can contact Lynn Kennedy at 813/274-8835 or send e-mail to lynn.kennedy@ci.tampa.fl.us.