The NSCA Data Base Committee sent out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the two software vendors that have been working with the committee over the past few years in the development of a program for a health data base to be implemented NSCA and used by Shiba owners worldwide.

The committee has received one proposal and one statement indicating that organization had no intention of responding to the RFP, in effect a no bid statement.  After reviewing the available options at this point the committee believes that NSCA has one of three options:

1.  Determine not to proceed with a data base proposal at this time.  This option would require returning the funds to the Club members that provided funds for that purpose.
2. Accept the proposal from Genus and proceed with this plan.(View proposal here)
3. Attempt another fund raising opportunity to gain funding to purchase the package initially pursued through Gary Galindos.

The committee is recommending option 2 at this time.  We are in the process of finalizing a contract that would tie down the details and include non-performance clauses, in the event there is a failure to perform by either party.  The reasons for this recommendation are:

1.  The initial system we investigated is a stable and working product.  However, the funds received to date are not enough to purchase the product and the yearly cost for maintenance is beyond the funds allocated for this purpose.  So while this system is a fully functional product, it is financially beyond the means of our organization without an ongoing fundraising effort.
2. It is certainly possible that we may be able to raise addition funds from the NSCA membership.  However, we would like to have time to evaluate the level of interest from our members and Shiba owners, prior to undertaking an additional fund raising effort.  If there is little participation from Shiba fanciers, then seeking more money from our membership would not be advisable.
3. Several NSCA members have shown interest in this project by donating the funds we have earmarked for this purpose.  We believe that we at least should make an effort to provide the data base without squandering the money we have received.  To this end we propose accepting the Genus proposal with the following understanding:
4.  We will provide a deposit of $500 to Genus to accept the Development Partnership Agreement.
5. Genus will allow us 60 days to evaluate the product we receive to determine the product meets the requirements of our design document, operates with efficiency and reliability.  Once we agree and the sign-off acceptance occurs, we would then provide the next payment of $1500.  The same sign-off acceptance will be employed for the final deliverable.  Acceptance may occur earlier than 60 days in either situation, but if NSCA does not accept the product delivered there will be no additional financial obligation from NSCA.

Acceptance of this proposal requires a $500 risk on the part of NSCA, in the event that Genus does not deliver the product as specified.  However, if the product is all that is promised, NSCA will have a data base that it can afford and as long as we agree to act as a development partner we will not have annual maintenance expenses.  The Club will have several thousand dollars as a surplus that could be used to purchase health reports or to be used as the baseline for supporting a system should we ever elect to operate the system independent of the Genus group.

Design Document