{"Introduction":"This is a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the University of Hawaiʻi to solicit proposals from Offerors to Develop an AI-Integrated Career Pathways Platform for the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges System Office, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.","Purpose":"To obtain the services of a CONTRACTOR to design, develop and implement an AI-Integrated Career Pathways Platform. The solution will guide students from middle/high school through postsecondary education and into the workforce, providing personalized insights into career pathways, programs of study, and labor market opportunities in Hawaiʻi. The University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges System Office is leading this effort for broader statewide use.\n\nThe end goal of this PLATFORM is to provide a simplified AI tool for Hawaiʻi students, parents, educators and administrators","Minimum Qualifications":"Have at least 2 years of AI/ML experience with examples of deployed systems and measurable impact.\nShow ability to securely deploy and scale the solution.\nHave experience in career, education, or skills-based recommendation systems.\nMaintain security certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001) and comply with privacy laws (e.g., FERPA).\nProvide explainable and interpretable AI outputs.\nDemonstrate LLM optimization, cost control, and data protection (e.g., RAG, caching, anonymization).\nShow ability to integrate with external systems and labor market APIs.\nProvide qualified team members (data scientist/ML","Submission Method":"All proposal responses must be submitted electronically through HIePRO.","User Base":"The RFP does not provide an estimated monthly user count. Offerors should assume statewide usage (middle school, high school, and postsecondary students, plus parents/educators/administrators) and propose a scalable architecture that can handle high traffic volumes and peak usage periods.\n\nOfferors should propose a role-based access model with experiences appropriate to the primary user groups (e.g., students, staff such as counselors/educators/admin, and parents/guardians as applicable)\n\nOfferors should propose an approach that supports public/anonymous access where appropriate and standards‑","Go-Live/Launch Timeline":"The OFFEROR selected by the University shall develop, configure and implement the complete SOLUTION (subject to satisfactory acceptance by the University) within one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days from the date designated in the Notice to Proceed.\n\nOfferors may assume an iterative approach and a phased rollout which is generally preferred to reduce risk. Offerors should aim to deliver a production-ready core platform within the 180-day implementation period, with phased enhancements thereafter as part of ongoing operations, and a plan to reach full statewide coverage thereafter.","Hosting":"Provide storage options: in-house, cloud, or hybrid, including MCP server if applicable.\nUse a centralized, secure data repository.\nSupport relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) or document-based databases (MongoDB).\nStore institutional pathway, program, academic data, and mappings.\n\nA solution fully hosted and managed by the Offeror is acceptable, provided it meets all RFP security, privacy, and data governance requirements (including U.S.-contained storage/backup/network paths for University DATA) and all functional/operational requirements.","Initial Contract Term":"Initial maintenance contract up to 12 months.\nCan be renewed yearly for up to 4 more years (max 5 years total).\nRenewal requires mutual written agreement and availability of funds.\nUniversity can terminate with 30 days’ notice.","Estimated Budget by State":"This is a new project; there were no expenditures in the previous year, so the annual spend for the prior year is $0.\n\nThe University is not providing a budget range/ceiling, annual planning estimate, budget thresholds by category, or not-to-exceed amounts at this time. Offerors should propose their best pricing consistent with the RFP requirements and the Appendix C pricing format, including Year 1 implementation and ongoing annual operating costs. Proposed pricing will be evaluated in accordance with the RFP.","Legacy System Details":"NA","Data Migration":"The RFP does not specify a required legacy system migration.","Reporting & Analytics Requirements":"Provide dashboards and allow on-demand reports for policymakers and educators to monitor utilization, pathway engagement, usage trends, and outcomes. \n\nThe RFP does not specify preferred BI tools. Offerors may propose integration/export capabilities compatible with common BI platforms and should describe how data will be made available for reporting (dashboards within the platform and/or exports/APIs).","Integrations":"Integrate securely with external systems (HIDOE, UH, LMI) using standard APIs.\nUse OAuth 2.0 (or equivalent) for authentication and authorization.\nImplement rate limiting and pagination for large data handling.\nProvide complete API documentation (endpoints, payloads, error codes).\nProvide APIs for integration with future systems (e.g., HIDOE PTP application, UH systems, credentialing, or AI model upgrades). ","Offshore Resources":"All personnel performing work under this contract must be located within the United States. The use of offshore resources, development centers, or data centers is strictly prohibited for this engagement.","Maintenance & Support":"Offerors should assume ongoing operations and maintenance will be required and should include pricing as requested in Appendix C. \n\nThe RFP does not specify required support hours. Offerors should propose support coverage (hours, on-call options, severity-based escalation) in their SLA/support plan.","Optional Services":"A native mobile app may be proposed as an optional future enhancement. Offerors may also include optional pricing for additional support levels, hosting options, and future enhancements, clearly separated from required costs.","L-1 Support/Help Desk Support/Call Center":"NA","Disaster Recovery And Business Continuity":"Offerors should propose DR/BCP requirements appropriate for a statewide production platform, including proposed RTO/RPO and DR testing cadence, for review during contracting/implementation.","Warranty":"NA","Training":"Deliver simple user guides, administrator manuals, and training sessions. \n\nThe RFP does not specify the number of staff or required training format. Offerors should propose an admin training plan (train-the-trainer, live sessions, recordings, written guides) and include assumptions; the final roster and format will be confirmed after award.","Mobile Support":"The RFP does not require a native mobile application. Offerors should propose a responsive, mobile-friendly web experience; ","E-Signature":"NA","References":"OFFEROR shall provide at least TWO (2) references where AI development work was successfully designed, developed and implemented.","Subcontractors":"Offerors may use qualified subcontractors/teaming partners to meet staffing requirements, provided the proposal clearly identifies the individual(s), documents qualifications/availability, and the prime contractor remains fully responsible for performance.","Pricing":" The University will accept SaaS/subscription pricing, provided the Offeror’s pricing is submitted in the format required in Appendix C (Price Quotation Sheet) (e.g., one-time/implementation costs and annual maintenance/subscription costs) and all RFP security, privacy, and data governance requirements are met.","MWBE/SDVOB":"NA","Payment Terms":"Payment to the University shall be made within THIRTY (30) calendar days from which official notice is received by the Contractor from the University.","Withhold/Retainage":"NA","Escrow Account":"The RFP does not include a source-code escrow requirement.The University will consider proposed escrow arrangements, if offered, during contract negotiations, provided they do not conflict with the RFP and the University’s standard terms. However, the University reserves the right to request additional assurances for continuity of operations during contracting, as applicable.","Change Request Hours":"NA","Audit":"If an audit finds overpayment or invalid charges, payment may be reduced.\nContractor must support and justify the charges.\nIf the audit decision is final, contractor must pay back money.\nPayback is only for their share of the incorrect amount.","Commercial and Legal Risks (Liability caps, indemnity, liquidated damages, penalties, performance bonds, no exceptions)":"Indemnification\nOffer must indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the University and its staff.\nMust cover all claims, damages, losses, and legal costs (including attorney fees).\nApplies to issues related to:\n- Data sharing and availability\n- Use, handling, storage, and processing of data\n- Unauthorized access, disclosure, or data breaches\n- Failure to meet contract obligations (especially data protection)","Partnership Gaps (Lack of required local partner or sub-contractor)":"NA","Staffing(Onsite, Resource availability, feasibility of onsite-offshore model)":"The RFP does not specify on-site requirements; Remote work is acceptable but should be weighed with the benefits of onsite work and team engagement. Offerors should propose an engagement plan (remote vs. on-site) and include reasonable travel estimates in Appendix C.","Competition (Favoring a particular vendor, platform)":"NA","Availability Of Funds":"Offerors are advised that the award of this contract is contingent upon availability of funds. If funds are not available, the University reserves the right not to make award of this contract.","RFP Folder Link":"https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qo2P5aFSo5VTvPhjcj92ME2dE0WQRLR6?usp=drive_link"}
Assumptions
- Cardinality Solution will be hosted on AWS Gov Cloud for the production instance.
- AWS Hosting includes one production and four non-production instances - Development, Integration Testing, UAT and Staging
- Cardinality SaaS license includes - Yearly 2 upgrades, monthly hot fixes and level 3 support
- All project resources would be based out of the United States.
- The Cardinality SaaS license cost is provided for up to upto 25 internal users and up to 240,000 Citizen users
- Cardinality will leverage the Adobe or DocuSign licenses of the Agency for e-signature
- The Operations & Maintenance Support phase is assumed to start after DDI phase of 7 months
- Cardinality will provide a mobile responsive application. Development of a mobile app is not part of scope of work
- Cardinality will provide Level-2 and Level-3 support during the M&O Phase. The Agency will provide L-1 support during the M&O Phase
- Training is based on two weeks of in-person sessions for the UHCC staff. Additional sessions, if required, will be delivered virtually through instructor-led classes or self-paced modules.
- In case the number and scope of integrations changes during implementation then the price for integration would also change
- The implementation timeline assumes day-1 data availability, availability of integration access and documentation and timely stakeholder participation and approvals