Committee finalizes scoring for county employee communications platform; Interact Software tops ranking

A county procurement follow-up evaluation committee completed final scoring for request for proposals RFP 25-00230, the solicitation for an employee communications and engagement platform, and ranked Interact Software highest with a recorded total score of 79.4.

The committee — which evaluated eight acceptable proposals after deeming two submissions unacceptable — based its work on demonstrations held July 15 and on written proposals. Sakina Ford, chief buyer on the project, said the group had already scored and discussed responses and that this meeting was a follow-up for any final scoring adjustments.

Why it matters: the committee’s scores will feed the procurement office’s recommendation for award. The county remains under a cone of silence for the solicitation, Ford said, meaning communications about the procurement are restricted until the county posts its notice of intent to award or cancels the solicitation.

The committee evaluated proposals on three scored categories: the quality of the proposed system and its ability to achieve county objectives; the proposer’s organization qualifications and experience; and the proposer’s understanding of scope, technical approach and work plan. The group adjusted several firms’ category scores after seeing live demonstrations and clarifying pricing details.

Committee members called out specific strengths and weaknesses during discussion. Bridal Roberts, digital engagement manager, said, “It’s a tough decision. It’s really good products and services that we saw.” Anna Mendez, PR marketing division director, added, “I’m a visual person, but I’d like to see things in action,” noting the demonstrations helped clarify usability and functionality.

For the top-ranked firms the committee recorded these category scores during the meeting: Interact Software — Category 1 (quality) 28, Category 2 (qualifications) 27, Category 3 (scope/approach) 13; Staffbase — 26, 26, 12; Exero Holdings LLC — 23, 24, 12; Osborne Inc — 22, 21, 12; Oxion Inc — 17, 17, 12. The committee also read out cost scoring and system totals; Interact Software’s combined score was read as 79.4 and Staffbase’s total was read as 73.52.

Members discussed specific evaluation points that affected scores. For Staffbase, several reviewers said search capability appeared weaker than other platforms and that the back end seemed more basic than expected, a factor that led at least one member to lower its quality score. For Interact Software, committee members said the demonstration showed a comprehensive solution, including search, integration capabilities and geofencing; one member noted a question about whether an email/newsletter module shown in the demo had been included in the pricing table, and staff confirmed that add-ons disclosed elsewhere in the proposal were factored into scoring after clarification.

Sakina Ford told the group that 10 proposals were received in response to the solicitation and that two responses had been deemed unacceptable and formally notified; the transcript records the unacceptable firms as Carahsoft Technology Corporation and another vendor whose name appeared in different places in the transcript (transcript variants include “Sir Illustra LLC” and “Parasoft Technology Corporation”). The committee proceeded to evaluate and score the eight remaining proposals.

No formal motion or vote to award was made at the meeting. The committee completed the numeric scoring and ranking during the session and recorded the results; procurement staff member Brian (role: procurement staff member, last name not provided in the record) will prepare the formal recommendation based on that ranking. Ford reminded attendees that the recording and procurement file will be available following the county’s procedures and that the cone of silence remains in effect until the notice of intent to award is posted or the solicitation is canceled.

The meeting adjourned after the committee confirmed agreement with the recorded scores and totals.