Notice of Intended Procurement
NAME OF PROCURING ENTITY
The Governing Council of the University of Toronto (the “University”)
CONTACT PERSON AND CONTRACT PERSON COORDINATES
Renee Cheng
150 College Street, 3rd Floor, Room 350,
Toronto ON M5S 1A2
reneeke.cheng@utoronto.ca
PROCUREMENT DOCUMENTS
The procurement documents are available at www.merx.com.
Note that obtaining access to the procurement documents will require prospective suppliers to register and pay a registration fee. Pricing and Payment Terms are available on the MERX website.
DESCRIPTION OF PROCUREMENT
The University of Toronto (“U of T”) is seeking a vendor to provide Chinese Social Media (CSM) solutions, primarily via WeChat and Weibo, to support its core Marketing and Communications teams from multiple departments within the University. The Office of the Vice President International (OVPI) works in close collaboration with U of T Communications (UTC) and other departments/divisions to ensure that CSM channels support and amplify the U of T’s key messages for Chinese stakeholder audiences.
U of T’s CSM accounts (Weibo and WeChat) were established and verified in 2020. As of May 2025, we have 19,925 WeChat and 5,810 Weibo followers. We currently post 10-15 Weibo posts per week, and 8 WeChat posts per month.
These official CSM accounts are intended to connect and engage with CSM users regardless of their location. Thus, these two CSM accounts aim to provide a university-wide narrative, including highlighting the latest relevant developments across the three campuses. Sample engagement strategies for key audiences include but are not limited to: spring/fall student recruitment campaigns, alumni profile series, and welcome/ onboarding ‘back to school’ campaigns. OVPI retains and oversees the vendor as a strategic partner responsible for supporting content planning, preparation, localization, and scheduling of posts across CSM platforms. OVPI collaborates closely with the vendor on content strategy and approves all CSM posts prior to publication to ensure alignment with institutional messaging. OVPI holds quarterly workshops led by the Successful Proponent for communications experts from across the University. The purpose of these workshops is to provide updates on the performance of the U of T’s CSM platforms and any related technological/ cultural trends, report on relevant social listening findings, share plans for future campaigns, and solicit input from the group on future content.
The procurement is anticipated to involve negotiation. An electronic auction is not anticipated.
ADDRESS AND FINAL DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS
Submissions must be submitted electronically at https://utoronto.bonfirehub.ca/ on or before Monday, September 08, 2025 (2:00 PM local time). The submissions will not be opened publicly.
CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
The procurement is subject to the following conditions for participation: Please see Schedule A to the RFP Data Sheet, Section 6.2.2.
APPLICABLE TRADE AGREEMENTS
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):
- The Canadian Free Trade Agreement, Chapter Five
- The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 19
- The Ontario-Quebec Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Chapter 9
CONTRACT DETAILS
See Form of Agreement, 2.1 Term
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The University will base its selection of qualified suppliers on the following criteria:
Schedule D Part 1 Technical Submission Requirements Weight
B.1 Experience and Qualifications 15
B.2 Technical Requirements
B.2.1 Branding and Strategic Positioning 10
B.2.2 Content Development and Platform Management 19
B.2.3 Data Reporting and Analytics 8
B.2.4 Long-Term Sustainability and Support 7
B.2.5 Issues Management 6
B.3 Team Members 7
B.4 Project Example of Creative Work 8
Schedule D Part 2 Financial Submission 20
Total 100
Optional Demonstration 20
Total incl. Optional Demonstration 120
NOTES
Suppliers should note that information contained within this notice is subject to change. Suppliers are encouraged to obtain the procurement documents which contain the most current information. If there is a conflict between the procurement documents and this notice, the procurement documents will take precedence.
