White paper initiative and presentation to support the project entitled “Olive Archive for Executable Content Models for Economic Sustainability,” www.olivearchive.org
I. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Carnegie Mellon University (“Carnegie Mellon”), acting through its Departments of Computer Science and University Libraries, invites Proposer to submit a proposal for the Project referenced above.
To be eligible for consideration, the Proposer must:
(a) Print, sign, scan and email the proposal no later than April 5, 2013 to the following email address: [log in to unmask].
(b) Your proposal must have a face page with your name, the name of the Project listed above and the word PROPOSAL;
(c) Your proposal must comply with the format and content requirements listed in this RFP.
Carnegie Mellon will not be responsible for late or missing proposals for any reason whatsoever.
In the interest of fairness to all Proposers participating in this process, any and all information requests pertaining to this RFP shall be communicated only in writing electronically and submitted to: [log in to unmask]. Carnegie Mellon will issue electronic written responses to such information requests in the form of addenda to this RFP that will be distributed to all Proposers receiving this RFP.
This RFP does not commit Carnegie Mellon to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal, or to procure or contract for services. The opening of proposals will be private and internal to Carnegie Mellon. All proposals become the property of Carnegie Mellon. Carnegie Mellon reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal received as a result of this RFP at Carnegie Mellon’s sole discretion.
II.
SCOPE
OF THE PROJECT
Background
Carnegie Mellon has developed software for the development of methods for recreating individual workstations on any networked machine. One application of this software gave rise to the Olive project, which seeks to create an archive for executable content so that all kinds of software, games, and new scholarly articles containing programs can be preserved for the long term in the same way that libraries now preserve analog and digital content. Libraries currently hold Babylonian clay tables, Egyptian papyri, medieval manuscripts, the Gutenberg Bible, and the first scientific journal, but libraries cannot run early computer programs. The Olive project seeks to allow libraries and other organizations to preserve all types of executable content.
Using the Olive system in an effort to develop a framework for the long term preservation of executable content, Carnegie Mellon has received a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to do further technical development work on Olive, and to develop a sustainable economic model for the eventual Olive Archive. The purpose of this RFP is to pursue the plan (a) for an effective organizational structure to sustain the archiving and access to executable content, and (b) to manage such an organization’s growth and evolution.
Proposal Requirements
for the Project
The Proposer will propose a model organizational structure presenting a model that would be the most effective for sustaining Olive. Requirements to be evaluated include the ability to:
· archive and have easy access to executable content;
· manage such organizational model’s growth and evolution;
· plan for a robust of organization that would be optimal to sustain a working version of Olive that interested communities, such as students, faculty and staff of educational institutions, could use to preserve executable content;
· engage in further research on how to improve Olive software;
· create a sustainable income and budget structure of the model organization to be sufficient to cover both operating and further research costs as proposed in the model organization;
· make available at least some of the Olive content to constituents at no charge; and
· maintain, enhance and evolve Olive as open source software.
Proposals must contain the following components:
· name, address, resume and sample of analogous work;
· summary description of the white paper and associated assumptions;
· fee breakdown for the preparation of the white paper consistent with this RFP; and
· travel expenses for the presentation at the 2014 international invitational summit consistent with this RFP.
The white paper to be produced for this project should be 10-15 pages in length and briefly compare various existing organizations dedicated to open source and archive preservation. The Proposer should describe the financial structure of various related existing organizations that would accomplish the sustainability conditions goals stated above. Estimates of salaries and costs for required hardware and software for the model organization will be useful. The white paper should have an executive summary, a body, and a list of citations. The successful Proposer will present his/her white paper at a 2014 international invitational summit of approximately ten (10) participants who will review and evaluate the white paper and translate its recommendations into an organizational structure.
The selection of the successful Proposer will be made by the Olive project leadership. The successful Proposer will receive a written agreement from Carnegie Mellon to be executed in accordance with the Contracting Process stated below. The successful Proposer understands and agrees that he/she will own the copyright to the white paper that the successful Proposer produces in response to this RFP, but that the successful Proposer will agree to grant Carnegie Mellon a non-exclusive, royalty-free unrestricted right to use the ideas and content of the white paper for any purpose related to the Olive project and Carnegie Mellon’s requirements and obligations associated with the funding sources that support the Olive project.
Cost
The Proposer should provide a total cost for (a) the work to create the white paper in conformance with the RFP, and (b) attendance at the 2014 international invitational summit, tentatively scheduled to be in New York City in early 2014, to present and discuss it. Email or telephone progress updates shall be held on a monthly basis. The Olive project will reimburse reasonable travel expenses (coach airfare, two nights in a medium priced hotel, per diem meal expenses (exclusive of alcohol) during the duration of the summit, and transportation to and from the airport) that are appropriately itemized and supported by accompanying receipts.
Payment of the total cost of the creating the white paper work and attending the summit shall be made to the successful Proposer within thirty (30) days of receipt of a corrected invoice to be submitted to the Olive project following presentation of the white paper at the 2014 international invitational summit.
Timeline
The selected Proposer shall have a period of four (4) months from the date that the agreement is fully executed to complete the Project.
· Review of proposals shall begin April 10, 2013
· Successful Proposer announced April 26, 2013
· White paper due September 30, 2013
III.
CONTRACTING
PROCESS; SIGNATURES
By submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, the Proposer agrees to have Carnegie Mellon execute the appropriate services agreement should he/she be the successful Proposer. Carnegie Mellon will send an unsigned agreement to the successful Proposer. If such Proposer does not sign the agreement and return it within five (5) business days, Carnegie Mellon may elect to award the contract to another Proposer.
By submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, the Proposer further understands and agrees that if awarded the Project, the successful Proposer is not authorized to begin any work on the Project unless and until a fully executed agreement is in place between the parties. To the extent the Proposer begins work before a fully executed agreement is in place, such work is at his/her own risk.
Intending to be legally bound, the Proposer submits his/her proposal to Carnegie Mellon as of the date set forth in the signature block below.
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