ORGANISATION OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES INVITATION FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Consultancy for Re-design of OECS Website The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission invites interested eligible Consulting Firms to submit Expressions of Interest for the provision of consultancy services for the re-design of the OECS Website. The Terms of Reference and Guidelines for the Submission of Expressions of Interest for this consultancy are provided below.
TERMS OF REFERENCE 1 BACKGROUND The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission is seeking to redesign its current website. The existing website was constructed in-house over a 6-month time frame in 2012-13 and while the site has worked well, the need for various enhancements to the design and functionality of the website, has been identified. 2 OBJECTIVE OF OECS WEBSITE The primary objective of the OECS Website is to effectively promote the work of the OECS Commission and to provide information related to the OECS Economic Union. The new site should engage visitors by presenting attractive visual images, intuitive navigation, and concise messaging. 3 VISION OF OECS WEBSITE To meet the OECS Commission s institutional and marketing goals, the new web site must: Showcase the current work of OECS Commission Provide concise information about the OECS Economic Union and the benefits to citizens Strengthen relationships with stakeholders Engage site visitors Provide a scalable, maintainable design Document the Commission s history 4 AUDIENCE OF OECS WEBSITE The primary audience for the OECS website is the general public, government and state institutions within the OECS, OECS stakeholders including the business community and civil society, international organisations, donors & non-profit organisations and media organisations in OECS region. 5 WEBSITE STRATEGIES Utilize responsive design to provide a consistent user interface across all devices Establish a clear path for visitors to access information relevant to them Present clear and concise information to end users Integrate with OECS s social media platforms Integrate third party software such as Mail Chimp and Prezly Prominently feature information about the OECS Economic Union Provide an easy-to-use, web-based content management system
Leverage limited human resources through improved efficiencies in web management Maximize search engine optimization through strategic mark-up language and content Provide an archival system for OECS press releases, photos, videos and move historical data to a searchable database Ensure branding complies with OECS guidelines For further information on the OECS Website, please visit www.oecs.org 6 RISKS A number of risks can be identified that could jeopardize effective implementation of this intervention: Unavailability of appropriate personnel to undertake the assignment Lack of uptake, response, support and participation from stakeholders Impact of weather, climate, and/or natural disasters on implementation 7 SCOPE OF SERVICES The scope of this assignment is to create a flexible, informative, up-to-date website that is easy to maintain and is viewable by desktop and mobile devices. In addition to designing a user- friendly website with an intuitive interface, the Consultant must also incorporate a web-based, database- driven content management system (CMS) that allows key personnel to easily update content without directly accessing source code. Further, the Consultant is required to provide end user training on the use of the included content management system. The OECS Commission will make available to the successful Consultant, the photography and content necessary to populate the new site. The Consultant is required to undertake all site planning, interface design and production. 7.1 SPECIFIC SERVICES The Consultant will complete the following tasks as part of this assignment: 1. Re-design of the OECS website should meet the following criteria as listed below. (a) The website should: Be a clean attractive site, with a mix of text and graphics. Visually, the site should be distinctive, memorable, and engaging. Each section of the site should have a common look and feel. Be built and maintained using a content management system (CMS), such as Joomla that will permit both technical and nontechnical staff to update web site content on specific pages. The designated administrator must be able to assign various roles in order to create a hierarchy of permissions. This should be kept in mind when selecting the tools that are included. Be easy to navigate, where information is grouped and presented in a logical manner with a minimal number of levels needed for the user to find the
desired information. The navigation design should complement the capabilities of touch-enabled, mobile devices. Be consistent with the use of photography and fonts throughout the site. Pictures on the front page should be a larger size than other subpages. The framework should provide for these photos to be easily changed. Web optimized images should be used for faster load time. Be developed to allow the use of templates that adhere to the proposed navigation scheme enabling non-technical users to easily add new sections/pages. (b) The Consultant is required to: Assist in the mapping and site layout of the proposed new OECS website in conjunction with a designated representative/s from the OECS. Convert substantial amounts of existing content to new web site. Provide tools from within the CMS to promote social media integration and search engine optimization. Include a newsroom, newsletter and email subscription service for site updates for example Mail Chimp and Prezly in addition to pod cast and streaming media functionality. Provide document library for publications and reports. Incorporate existing hosted calendar solution by Trumba. Provide necessary graphics, software and licenses to maintain site internally. Provide search capabilities using key words or phrasing that will identify content throughout the site. Allow editors to easily create and modify photo and video galleries using social sites such as Google+ and YouTube. Include the functionality to build forms (contact us, event registration, etc.) from within the CMS. Provide a multi-lingual translation option English, French and Spanish. Incorporate or direct traffic to Joomla based sub sites such as oecs.org/yachting, oecs.org/forum, oecs.org/iland and ECELP.org Include the functionality to publicize vacancies and submit applications via the website 2. Provide training, tools and assistance to relevant OECS staff to enable to effective launching, operating, updating and maintenance of the website. (a) The Consultant is required to: Provide training material and hands on training to the focal points Make available to the OECS the necessary graphics, software and licenses to maintain site internally. 7.2 SITE SPECIFICATIONS OECS encourages creativity in the Website designed by the Consultant,; however, there are certain requirements for this website consultancy. The Consultant Firm must incorporate all of the following requirements.
The website must be cross-browser compatible with current and one (1) previous version of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari browsers as well as responsive to mobile and desktop devices. The website must be built and maintained using a Content Management System (CMS) The CMS must include security (firewall), backup and restoration features The Three-click Rule must be applied. The website must be w3c compliant and should also be easily accessible to the novice as well as the experienced Internet user. The website must be designed with a mix of text and graphics such that each page loads in a way that is acceptable to the typical user having an average home Internet connection speed. 7.3 TRACKING The website must include Google Analytics to help measure and understand visitor behaviour and improve web site performance and availability. The following items need to be tracked: Web traffic analysis Path analysis Visitor trends Page views Entry and exit pages Top pages Page length of stay Technical analysis of browsers, devices and platforms 7.4 AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES/INTEGRATION ISSUES The OECS Commission will use much of its existing web content. New content will be provided during the course of the project. 7.5 TESTING The Consultant should undertake testing of the website on all applicable platforms to ensure that the website operates as intended., In addition, the Consultant is required to submit a report detailing the testing plan and results of the tests conducted. 7.6 DELIVERY Delivery will be the uploading of the site to the OECS Commission s external hosting provider. The Commission will provide a technical lead who will act as facilitator during the development and launch of the site and will be the liaison person between the successful Consultant, external service providers and other OECS internal resources. Provisions for support must be made by the Consultant Firm for the go-live stage.
7.7 PROPERTY RIGHTS The OECS Commission shall hold all property rights on matters directly related to or derived from the work carried out through this Consultancy, upon completion of the services by the Consultant and acceptance of the website by the OECS Commission. The website design and all of its contents, software and architecture become property of OECS. 7.8 DURATION The assignment should be undertaken within a period of six (6) months. 7.9 EXPERIENCE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS The contract will be awarded to the Consulting Firm showing a combination of the most experience, and greatest skills for delivery of the Website as detailed in these Terms of Reference. The Consulting Firm should have at least five (5) years experience and is expected to demonstrate skills and competencies in the following areas: Efficient in Abode Photoshop, Fireworks, Illustrator Familiar with PHP, Apache, MySQL, databases and content management systems such as Joomla. Knowledge of SEO, HTML, XHTML, and CSS Experience with Google Analytics Knowledge of cross browser development for Chrome, IE, Firefox, Safari Knowledge of cross platform web design for access on mobile devices 8 DELIVERABLES The Consultant will submit the following reports in English in one original and two copies: 1. Inception Report of maximum 15 pages to be produced within two weeks from the start of implementation. In the report the Consultant shall describe e.g. initial findings, progress in collecting data, any difficulties encountered or expected in addition to the work programme. The Consultant should proceed with their work unless the Contracting Authority sends comments on the inception report. This report shall outline the main elements of website design and content i.e. user navigation, home page and main navigation templates for each of the main navigation links, for approval by the Contracting Authority. 2. Demo of the website as built to date with relevant content, and testing by key users, within three (3) months from the start of implementation. 3. Draft final report in a format agreed with the technical lead, include details of progress and results, design and content, and user/technical/training guide(s). This report shall be submitted within two weeks of delivery and testing of the Demo. 4. Completion, launch and training of key users, within six (6) months from the start of implementation. 5. Final report with the same specifications as the draft final report, incorporating any comments received from the parties on the draft report. The final report should also include the report on
the testing of the website (as detailed in 7.5). The final Report shall be submitted within two (2) weeks of the agreed date of the website launch.
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Consultancy for Re-design of OECS Website Consulting Firms wishing to signify their interest in undertaking the prescribed services are to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to include: 1. Information on the Firm s technical competence relevant to the assignment, experience in undertaking similar assignments, and any other capability statements relevant to the successful completion of the project 2. A concept note on the planned framework for undertaking the assignment and a breakdown of the number of days required for each task. This should include a creative brief which will confirm audiences, define objectives, indicate graphic look and feel, navigation, site marketing, identify technology issues and assumptions, required functionality, phasing, and budgetary constraints. The plan and cost for training end users in the use of the content management system should also be included in the brief. Consulting Firms shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of their Expressions of Interest. The OECS is not bound to accept any Expression of Interest, and reserves the right to annul the selection process at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the Consultants. For more information or to submit Expressions of Interest, please contact: The Head, Communications Unit Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Morne Fortune P.O. Box 179 Castries ST LUCIA Fax: 758 453 1628 Phone: 1758-455-6327 At the following email address: rpeachey@oecs.org Copied to: pcupid@oecs.org Expressions of Interest can be submitted via email. A Consulting Firm will be selected in accordance with the Consultant s Qualifications (CQS) Selection method as detailed in the procedures set out in the Procurement Manual of the OECS dated November 2013, revised April 2015.
Expressions of Interests received in relation to this assignment will be evaluated, and the Firm deemed most suitable for the assignment will be selected. The selected Firm will be invited to submit a fee proposal and to negotiate a Contract. The criteria to evaluate the Expressions of Interests submitted will include: The Firm s experience and Technical competence in undertaking the assignment Experience in undertaking similar assignments Planned framework submitted for undertaking the assignment Expressions of Interest are to reach the OECS Commission no later than 4:00 pm local time in Saint Lucia, on Monday November 30, 2015.