What the buyer needs
AI summaryCharlotte Works and the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council seek a qualified onshore USA partner to design, build, launch, and actively manage an AI-enabled workforce and ecosystem navigator. The selected partner must develop an MVP deployed via a widget, web application, or chatbot that delivers conversational navigation for job seekers, ingests regional labor datasets, and provides end-to-end hosting and maintenance. Applicants must submit questions by November 25, 2026, and deliver final PDF proposals via email to Kevin Loux by January 8, 2027, at 5:00 PM EST. The buyers have not set a fixed budget ceiling, require proposals to demonstrate execution capability with representative work or working software, and will evaluate submissions on technical feasibility, organizational capability, cost transparency, and adherence to intellectual property terms.
Scope of work
- Validate job-seeker personas and co-design phase-one scope with workforce providers and community partners
- Design mobile-responsive conversational user experience paired with visual navigation
- Architect hybrid system pairing deterministic database logic with token-gated conversational AI
- Develop and launch MVP deployment through a widget, web application, or chatbot-style experience
- Integrate resource directories, regional labor market datasets, and local training pathways
- Provide end-to-end hosting, maintenance, and continuous assisted management of the deployed solution
- Provide usability testing results, experience designs, and prototypes
- Deliver data governance, privacy, security, and AI safety recommendations and SLAs
How proposals are evaluated
| Criterion | Weight / scoring |
|---|---|
| Alignment to product vision | Not specified |
| User-centered approach | Not specified |
| Technical and responsible AI capability | Not specified |
| Proven Execution Capability | Not specified |
| Implementation approach and value | Not specified |
Minimum qualifications
- Compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards
- Demonstrated ability to deliver through an upfront functional demonstration or portfolio of active, live representative solutions
Documents to include with your response
- Executive summary and understanding of the opportunity
- Organization profile, relevant project experience, key team members/roles, and subcontractor disclosure
- Proposed approach, scope, work plan, and indicative timeline
- Proof of Capability via working upfront demonstration or portfolio of active live solutions
- Menu of future feature additions and integrations mapped with estimated costs
- Approach to responsible AI, privacy, security, data governance, and quality assurance
- Detailed pricing by phase, assumptions, optional elements, and recurring hosting/licensing/LLM costs
- Key dependencies, risks, and decisions required
- Disclosure of Third-Party IP & Terms of Service Restrictions
How to submit
- Method
- Instructions
- Submitted in PDF format via email with subject line RFP Submission – AI-Enabled Workforce & Ecosystem Navigator – [Vendor Name]