RFP --- AI Powered Government Research Assistant

Agency:	Town of Coventry
State:	Rhode Island
Type of Government:	State & Local
Posted Date:	Apr 20, 2026
Due Date:	May 15, 2026
Original Source:	Please Login to View Page
Contact information:	Please Login to View Page
Bid Documents:	Please Login to View Page

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Request for Proposals1

Town of Coventry, Rhode Island

Department:

Description:

AI Powered Government Research Assistant

Bid Closure & Bid Opening

Sealed Bid Responses/Proposals2 to this RFP shall be received until 9:00 AM on May 15, 2026

by the Town Clerk’s Office located within the Coventry Town Hall at 1670 Flat River Road,

Coventry, RI 02816. The forgoing date and time shall mean and is the “Bid Closure”, which sets

the hard deadline for the submission of all Proposal Response documents.

Generally, the normal business hours for the Town of Coventry (hereinafter “Town”) are

Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and Town offices are

closed on legal holidays recognized by the Town. Please consult the Town’s calendar on its

website (www.coventryri.gov) for current information.

Proposals shall be opened publicly and read out loud in the Town Council Chambers located at

the aforementioned address on May 15, 2026 at 10:00 AM. Each proposal, together with the

name of the bidder, shall be recorded and an abstract of each proposal made available for public

inspection. Subsequent to the awarding of the proposal, all documents will be retained in accord

with state law concerning public record retention (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 38-1-1 et seq. and 42-8.1-1

et seq.) as well as all regulations promulgated by the Rhode Island Department of State

(www.ri.sos.gov).

Any proposal received after the Bid Closure will not be accepted and will be returned to the

bidder unopened. It is the bidder’s responsibility to ensure that its Bid Response/Proposal is

received in a timely manner in the Town Clerk’s prior to Bid Closure.

1 Request for Proposals may be hereinafter referred to as “RFP.”

2 “Proposal Response” documents or “Proposal Responses” shall mean and include the “Proposal

Response Package”, which is published by the Town of Coventry as part of this RFP, and shall include

any supporting documentation prescribed herein or by law, and which may be necessary, ancillary and/or

corollary to the bidder’s response being complete and responsive to this RFP.

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS3

This RFP and Bid Response/Proposal form may be obtained in person at the Town Clerk’s

during normal business hours or online at https://coventryri.gov.

1. Bid Responses/Proposals

1. A bidder’s Bid Response to this RFP must include: (1) RFP Response – Bid Form; (2)

Vendor Responsibility Form with attachments provided by the vendor; (3) Equal Opportunity

Employer Statement and Certification; (4) Non-Collusion Statement; (5) any and all

supporting documents, as may be specified or required herein, submitted by the bidder to

supplement the Bid Response; and (6) any and all documentation required by Coventry Code

of Ordinances Chapter 56 § 11. The foregoing documentation shall constitute the bidder’s

entire, sealed, competitive bid proposal to the Town to provide the service(s) and/or good(s)

requested by the Town in this RFP.

2. All Bid Responses must be provided in person, in hard copy, and in the Office of the Town

Clerk. All Bid Responses must be in ink and have the original “wet” signature of the bidder

or its duly authorized agent on all documents and forms requiring a signature. Under no

circumstance will Bid Responses be accepted by any digital or electronic means, including

but not limited to telephone, fax, or email.

3. Bid Responses shall be submitted in a sealed envelope large enough to accommodate all Bid

Response documents and it shall be clearly marked “AI Powered Government Research

Assistant” on the exterior of the envelope.

4. Bid Response documents shall include an original Bid Response, plus three (3) copies.

5. All Bid Responses will be accepted by the Town and reviewed by the Town in accord with

all RFP Instructions, General Conditions, and any other specifications stated herein or

attached hereto by the Town. Any departure from, exceptions to, or modifications of this

RFP by a bidder must be noted by the bidder and fully explained, in its bid response.

6. Any communication of any kind and in any manner or medium with the Town that is not a

3 The terms “Bidder” and “Vendor” as may be used in this RFP and the Response Package are

used interchangeably. The use of the term “Vendor” does not imply and is not intended to mean

that a contractual or quasi-contractual vendor relationship exists between any Bidder and the

Town.

Bid Response to this RFP should be marked, labeled, designated or entitled - “NOT a Bid

Response” or “NOT a Bid” written on the envelope.

7. Bid Responses shall contain all necessary mathematical computations and figures. In

addition, any prices and/or pricing set forth in the Bid Response should be stated in words

and in numbers. The Town reserves its right to reject any Response to this RFP on the basis

that pricing is not so stated or any Response in which there is a lack of agreement or

congruity between the pricing as stated in words and the pricing set forth in numbers.

8. A bidder must itemize the pricing of each aspect of in the Bid Response, where applicable

and whenever possible. In addition, the pricing and financial aspects of a Bid Response

MUST be totaled when and where applicable by sub-total and by overall total amount. The

Town reserves its right to make an award the basis of total proposed amount of an RFP

Response or by individually priced items in an RFP Response.

9. Each bidder’s RFP Response shall, for individuals, state the full name and place of residence;

and the names of persons or firms with whom the bidder is submitting a joint proposal. All

bids made by a legally cognizable entity (i.e., LLCs, corporations, partnerships etc…) shall

disclose the names and addresses of senior managers, shareholders, principals and anyone

else holding an ownership interest in the entity.

2. Bidder and Bid Qualifications; Bid Evaluation

Bidders and bid qualifications are evaluated by the Town in accord with R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-55-

5(b), Coventry Home Rule Charter Art. X § 10.23, and the Coventry Code of Ordinances

Chapter 56 § 11. The bid award will be based on the lowest qualified evaluated bid.

The Town reserves its right to conduct due diligence as it deems necessary to assess the bidder’s

performance capability, capacity, qualifications and any other criteria required by the RFP to

provide the service(s) and/or good(s) requested in the RFP. At the Town’s request, bidders shall

furnish and any and all additional information and data as may be requested by the Town for its

due diligence.

3. Required Attachments to the Bid Response

Each Bid Response shall include the following:

a. RFP Bid Response – Bid Form;

b. Vendor Responsibility form;

c. Equal Opportunity Employer form;

d. Non-Collusion Statement;

e. Vendor’s proposed form of contract;

f. Any other information that may be required due to the nature of the good(s) and/or

service(s) to be provided; and

g. Any and all information required by the Coventry Code of Ordinances Chapter 56 § 11.

4. Acceptance or Rejection of Bids; Town’s Reservation of Rights

The Town will accept or reject bids no later than ninety (90) days following the date on which

bids are opened. The Town reserves the right to reject or accept any or all bids or portion thereof

where such acceptance or rejection would, in the Town's sole discretion, be in the best interest of

the Town, and further reserves the right to reduce or modify the scope of the

procurement/purchase of goods and/or services in order to meet funding limits, budget, and

scheduling constraints.

5. RFP Terms, Specifications and Questions

Bidders must examine the RFP carefully as to the specification of service(s) and/or good(s) the

Town is requesting. In case doubt shall arise as to the meaning or intent of anything shown in the

specifications, an inquiry shall be made in writing to the Town before the bid is submitted. The

submission of a Bid Response shall indicate that the bidder thoroughly understands the terms of

the RFP and specifications.

If a bidder has questions, requires additional information, or requires some clarification

regarding the RFP, please contact (in writing ONLY via email) the following person at the Town

no later than May 11, 2026 at 9:00 AM:

Cody Haughton, Director of IT Department, at chaughton@coventryri.gov

6. Addenda – Individual and other Bidders

Any bidder’s specific due diligence is addenda that the bidder shall include as a necessary part of

the bidder’s Bid Response. Any addenda, including response(s) to bidders’ questions, issued

after the request for bids are distributed shall be covered in the Bid Response.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

1. Reservations

a. The Town may waive minor differences in specifications provided these differences do not

violate the intent of the specification or materially affect the operation for which the item is

being acquired.

b. Proposals which show omission, irregularity, alteration of forms, or additions not called for,

and conditional or unconditional, unresponsive bids, or bids obviously unbalanced may be

rejected.

c. The Town reserves the right to award contracts on a lump sum or an individual item basis or

such combination thereof as the interests of the Town may require.

d. If in the Town’s judgment, or the Town’s best interest will be served by doing so, the Town

reserves the right to reject any and/or all proposals; to accept a portion of a proposal or

proposals only; to advertise for new proposals; to proceed to do the work otherwise; or to

abandon the work.

e. If a Bid Response is made in collusion with any other bidder, then both bids will be rejected.

f. A responder who is an out-of-state corporation shall qualify or register to transact business in

this State, in accordance with General Laws of the State of Rhode Island.

g. In determining the lowest qualified evaluated proposal, cash discounts for payments less than

thirty (30) days will not be considered.

h. The Town reserves the right to award to one bidder, or to split the award among bidders.

i. All proposals will be disclosed at the formal proposal opening. After a reasonable lapse of

time, tabulation of proposals may be seen on the Town’s website (www.coventryri.gov)

j. As the Town is exempt from the payment of Federal Excise Taxes and Rhode Island Sales

Tax, prices quoted are not to include these taxes.

k. In case of error in the extension of prices quoted, the unit price will be considered.

l. A vendor will not be permitted to either assign or underlet the contract, nor assign legally or

equitably any money hereunder, or its claim thereto without the previous written consent of

the Town Manager.

m. Delivery dates must be shown on the bid proposal. If no delivery date is specified, it will be

assumed that an immediate delivery from stock will be made.

n. Bid proposals may be submitted on an “equal” in quality basis. The Town reserves the right

to decide equality. Responders must indicate brand or make offered and submit detailed

specifications if other than the brand requested.

o. For contracts involving construction, alteration and/or repair work, the provisions of R.I.

General Law § 37-13-1 et seq., concerning payment of prevailing wage rates apply.

p. No goods should be delivered, services provided, or work commenced without Notice from

the Town.

2. Disputes

In cases of disputes as to whether a good, service, or work quoted or delivered meets the RFP

specifications, the decision of the Town shall be final and binding on both parties.

3. Failure to Deliver

This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.

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