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Creating an Equitable Innovation AcceleratorRFQQ: EIA2021Title: Creating an Equitable Innovation AcceleratorTo create & implement an “Equitable Innovation Accelerator” (EIA), to target technology startups in the information & communication technology industry sector & at technology-enabled companies in other industry sectors.QUESTION AND ANSWERSADDENDUM #1Q.We have the required software framework and software platform that is intelligently developed and is targeted for various state government agencies across the County.? We are in the RFI and RFP process with some states. The question though is whether a vendor has to meet all the above listed requirements or some of them. A.We are seeking contractors who meet all of the minimum qualifications.Q.Can these requirements be provided as an option say 5 out of 7 have to be met? A.We are seeking contractors who meet all of the minimum qualifications. Example – this stipulation makes it WA State specific -?An organization?or whose employees cumulatively?have at least 10 years of experience in or supporting the tech industry and/or tech startups in Washington stateQ.Can this be modified to WA or other states? A.Given that this contract is specific to supporting Washington state tech startups, we are seeking responses who have the cumulative experience supporting the tech industry in Washington state. Q.While we have been supporting tech industry in WA state working with Govt. Agencies on many new technology modernization projects will this experience be counted towards the same? A.Please detail these experiences in the response and we can determine if these meet this qualification. Q.Please confirm – proposals do not need to include the cost of co-working space in our quote.? If we deem co-working space as necessary for the EIA cohort, we will fundraise and manage access but not pay for it out of our budget. A.The RFQQ calls to “leverage operational grant funding to founders with access to local coworking spaces as relevant.” We do expect coworking spaces to be included in the response within the existing budget provided by the contract.?Q.Please confirm – the EIA can and given current conditions, will most probably be a virtual program, especially if we want to engage startups from outside the Puget Sound region.A. Depending on when the EIA is formally launched, businesses may be able to return to using office space (if the accelerator launched in late 2021, for example). We expect that there may be a hybrid virtual/coworking space model, as there are coworking spaces throughout Washington state, outside of the Puget sound region, that the contractor can engage with to support selected startups. We would like the contractor to include supporting the costs of coworking in the proposal. Q.Under key areas of work the document states, “Can optionally create other committees as needed to assist with operations, policies, strategy, fundraising or more.”? Can you provide a bit more about what you envision?? Is there an existing successful committee we can reference as an example? A.This is optional, but should the contractor need support with fundraising for example, they may pull together a steering committee of well-networked Washingtonians who can help bring in philanthropic dollars to meet the $1M fundraising requirement needed to provide cash grants to startups. Or if they are seeking strategic guidance on how to launch the EIA, they may recruit tech ecosystem professionals to provide input on launch and communication plans. This is more guidance than it is a requirement. Q.Should costs to market and promote the EIA program beyond coordination be included in our quote?? Or does commerce have a separate marketing budget for the program?? For example, would we need to include development of marketing assets and paid media in our quote or will that be paid for outside this grant? A.The contractor will manage the EIA end to end – there are no additional committed funds for the EIA outside of what is provided in the RFQQ. The contractor will need to budget for a marketing strategy to launch the EIA. Commerce may supplement through free communication channels (such as social media and press releases). We do not believe it will be difficult to source the initial cohort of startups given the relationships Commerce and the contractor will ideally have within the WA state tech community. However, the funding through the Economic Development Administration who funds this opportunity, cannot be used for paid advertising. ? ................
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