SLED Opportunity · MASSACHUSETTS · CITY OF CAMBRIDGE
AI Summary
The City of Cambridge seeks bids for an IT Strategic Planning Study to assess and modernize its IT environment. The study includes stakeholder engagement, benchmarking, and development of a strategic plan with a multi-year roadmap. Bids due April 23, 2026, via the City's procurement portal.
The City of Cambridge would like to invite you to submit a bid for IT Strategic Planning Study. If submitting electronically, Bids are to be submitted through the Procurement Portal at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/cambridgema. Bids are to be submitted no later than 11:00 am on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
The bid submission deadline has been postponed for one (1) week. The bid submission deadline shall now be April 30th, 2026 @11:00am.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
The City relies on information technology systems and services to support municipal operations, deliver services to residents, and enable efficient and secure management of City resources.
Over time, the City’s technology environment has evolved to support a wide range of operational and service delivery needs. As technology continues to play an increasingly important role in municipal government, the City seeks to develop a comprehensive strategy to guide future technology investments, governance practices, and service delivery improvements.
The Information Technology Strategic Planning Study will help the City assess its current technology environment, identify opportunities for improvement, and establish a strategic roadmap for modernizing and strengthening the City’s information technology capabilities.
The resulting strategy will help ensure that technology initiatives align with the City’s operational priorities and support effective service delivery to residents, departments, and stakeholders.
The City seeks to undertake an Information Technology Strategic Planning Study to evaluate the current state of the City’s information technology environment and develop a comprehensive Information Technology Strategic Plan.
The purpose of the study is to produce defined deliverables that will guide technology investments, governance practices, operational improvements, and service delivery priorities for the City’s Information Technology Department.
The study will result in a final Information Technology Strategic Plan and implementation roadmap that City leadership may use to guide technology planning and decision-making over the next several years.
The objectives of the Information Technology Strategic Planning Study are to:
The study is expected to follow a structured planning process including current-state assessment, stakeholder engagement, benchmarking, strategic planning activities, and preparation of a final strategic plan.
The tasks described below represent the City’s anticipated approach to the study; however, proposers may recommend alternative study methodologies that achieve the stated objectives.
The City anticipates that the selected firm will utilize structured diagnostic tools, facilitated planning workshops, and established strategic planning frameworks to support development of the Information Technology Strategic Plan and related implementation roadmap.
Task | Description | Deliverable |
Task 1 - Project Initiation | Conduct project kickoff meeting with City leadership, confirm study scope, schedule, and communication protocols. Prepare a detailed study work plan identifying activities and milestones. | Project Work Plan |
Task 2 - Current State Assessment | Evaluate the City’s current information technology environment including governance, organizational structure, technology platforms, cybersecurity practices, and service delivery capabilities. | Current State Assessment Report |
Task 3 - Stakeholder Engagement Diagnostics | Conduct diagnostic surveys with City leadership, departments, and IT staff to identify technology priorities and service delivery challenges. | Stakeholder Engagement Summary |
Task 4 - Benchmarking and Diagnostics | Conduct benchmarking and structured diagnostics comparing the City’s IT organization with comparable public sector organizations and industry practices. | Benchmarking and Diagnostic Assessment |
Task 5 - Technology Capability and Maturity Assessment | Evaluate key IT capability areas and determine current maturity levels and recommended target maturity levels appropriate for the City. | IT Capability and Maturity Assessment |
Task 6 - Strategic Planning Workshops | Facilitate planning sessions with IT management to identify strategic goals, guiding principles, and modernization priorities. | Strategic Planning Workshop Summary |
Task 7 - IT Strategic Plan Development | Develop a comprehensive Information Technology Strategic Plan including strategic goals, priorities, and initiatives. | Draft IT Strategic Plan |
Task 8 - Strategic Initiative Roadmap | Develop a multi-year roadmap of initiatives aligned with the IT strategy and City priorities. | Strategic Initiative Roadmap |
Task 9 - Strategic Initiative Prioritization Framework | Develop a framework for evaluating and prioritizing technology initiatives and investments. | Strategic Initiative Prioritization Model |
Task 10 - Strategy Governance and Metrics | Define performance metrics, governance structures, and a strategy refresh process to monitor and manage progress. | IT Success Metrics and Governance Framework |
Task 11 - Final Study Report | Present findings and incorporate feedback into the final strategic plan. | Final IT Strategic Plan and Implementation Roadmap |
As part of the study, the selected firm shall conduct a structured evaluation of the City’s Information Technology capabilities and organizational maturity.
The assessment may evaluate capability areas including:
The assessment should identify:
The results should inform the development of strategic initiatives and roadmap recommendations.
The firm shall develop a strategic initiative roadmap identifying key initiatives necessary to achieve the strategic goals of the IT organization.
Each initiative should include:
The roadmap should support practical execution of the strategy over multiple years.
The firm shall develop a prioritization framework that enables the City to evaluate, rank, and sequence technology initiatives over time.
The framework should support transparent and consistent decision-making regarding technology investments.
Evaluation criteria may include:
The prioritization framework should be designed so it can be reused by the City for future technology planning and capital investment decisions.
Deliverable:
Strategic Initiative Prioritization Model
The final Information Technology Strategic Plan should include, at minimum, the following components:
Communications Plan for sharing the strategy with stakeholders
The City anticipates that the Strategic Planning Study will be completed over approximately three (3) months.
Project Phase | Activities |
Month 1 | Project initiation, current state assessment, stakeholder diagnostics, and data collection |
Month 2 | Benchmarking analysis, capability maturity assessment, and strategic planning workshops |
Month 3 | Development of the strategic plan, initiative roadmap, prioritization framework, and final presentations |
Final Deliverable:
Information Technology Strategic Plan and Implementation Roadmap
Following completion of the Strategic Planning Study, the City may elect to pursue additional work related to implementation of the strategic plan.
Potential activities may include:
Monitoring progress against strategic objectives
Please select one
If a corporation, include the State in which you are incorporated in.
If a partnership, include the names of partners.
If an individual, include relevant information.
Please include the name, title, telephone and email address of the authorized representative
The Vendor/Contractor certifies that it has not been and currently is not debarred or suspended by any federal, state, or municipal governmental agency under G. L. c. 29, § 29F or other applicable law, nor will it contract with a debarred or suspended subcontractor on any public contract.
An unchecked response, a failure to respond, or a failure to meet to any of the following Quality Requirements will result in a rejection of your bid. Please check each of the following Quality Requirements as confirmations.
Bidder has conducted at least three (3) IT strategic planning studies for public sector organizations of a similar size and/or scope to the City. Samples of these studies shall be made available upon request.
Bidder has done IT operational consulting for at least three (3) public sector agencies.
Bidder has conducted at least three (3) IT workshops for public sector agencies of a similar size to the City of Cambridge.
Bidder has assisted in the implementation of developed strategic recommendations for at least three (3) IT planning projects within the last five (5) years.
Bidder shall make available the qualifications of key personnel to perform the work in the Scope of services upon request.
Bidders shall submit a list of three references for which the bidder has supplied similar services. References shall include contact information including contact name, addresses and telephone numbers for each to inquire as to their satisfaction with the bidders’ product and service. In addition, the City reserves the right to use itself as a reference, to contact references not listed and to otherwise perform its own due diligence when making a responsibility determination. A bid maybe rejected on the basis of one or more references reporting less than excellent past performance.
Include contact name, address and telephone #
Include contact name, address and telephone #
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Please electronically sign and upload the following documents using this URL: https://cambridgema.na4.adobesign.com/public/esignWidget?wid=CBFCIBAA3AAABLblqZhCD4UnZSN3XyfqZi9ZxGyvlhSnIlYThymiofiiHN4CtIXU4t2tYM27cVaMk7bVx6AI*
Bidder certifies that this bid is made without collusion with any other person, firm or corporation making any other bid or who otherwise would make a bid.
Bidder shall upload a detailed proposal document to provide the work outlined in the Scope of Services.
Bidder shall upload at least three (3) sample overviews of previous work providing similar services described in the Scope of Services to public sector agencies.
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SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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