BCPS is seeking to spend $135k contracting a company 3,000 miles away in Canada for the purposes of "improving community engagement" here in Broward, while in the process failing to use the community engagement tools, people and processes it already has in-house, at its fingertips, already bought and paid for. In the course of the two month that this bid has been pursued, there was no mention of it to Technology Advisory - one of those very 'community engagement' mechanisms you could have run this by to build integrity - and no explanation as to why you choose not to use Microsoft Power BI, an existing AI/data analysis/survey platform I believe you already have. In seeking to wrap more community engagement around BCPS, particularly in your 'Redefining Schools' process, your most pressing challenge is not what platform you use to gather, process and analyse insights and info from stakeholders - you can already do that; it's how you convince them to provide that input in the first place when they aren't convinced on any great scale that their input and views will actually be heard and given value. ThoughtExchange cannot "drive better attendance at Town Hall meetings" any more than simply sending out well crafted, consistent communications through existing channels already could. You have a Comms Dept, Family Engagement Dept, schools and principals, student and stakeholder bodies, Advisories, SACs/SAFs, PTOs/PTAs, labor unions, community partners, BECON, Parentlink, social media, public media - use them for outreach - and you have the software already to handle the data and to pump out surveys. Your first 'Redefining Schools' community meeting is in eight days' time, with two more over the following fortnight. How will this $135k of software even be ready to "improve community engagement and drive better attendance" in that time?! Your problem isn't one that will be resolved by rushing a sole-source bid through a hastily convened School Board meeting for $135k of software services from a company in Canada that the IT dept avoided mentioning to TAC for two months, during times of fiscal squeeze when every dollar and cent is under extra scrutiny and folks see higher priorities. Focus on building trust; it's free!

There is no demonstrated need for this product as you already have the ability to survey the public.