Summary

VNG International B.V PLC is involved in the Multi-donor Trust Fund for the Ethiopia Social Accountability Program Project, administered by the World Bank under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The company is seeking quotations from qualified web designers for the design of a new website.  

BACKGROUND

The Management Agency (MA) of the Ethiopia Social Accountability Program (ESAP) wishes to redesign its website. The primary users of the site will be civil society organizations implementing social accountability in Ethiopia, development partners, social accountability experts and government officials. Members of the press and the general public are also among the audience.

PURPOSE        

As ESAP is now in its third phase of implementation, there is a need for a new website with strong functionalities and attractive content display that can be easily navigated by a variety of user groups and that functions as a dynamic, up-to-date data/information portal.

The aim for the new website development proposed in this ToR is to address this need. For this task, the MA is inviting proposals from reputable and qualified companies with a track record of success in developing websites.

DELIVERABLES 

• Design the ESAP website with a modern look and up-to-date functionalities to provide a better experience to users in comparison with the ESAP2 website.  Please note that the website should allow for the integration of a web based monitoring and evaluation platform (plug-in);
• Develop a clear and concise user manual and train selected MA staff to perform content upload, system maintenance and administration;
• Provide administrative and technical support and quality control for a period of 6 months; and
• Hand over full source code including all developed libraries to the ESAP Management Agency

WORK SETTING

The work setting for the assignment will include different aspects:

Timing and duration of the assignment

The duration of the contract will be two months. The website development will be completed in two months’ time starting from the date of signing the contract. The user manual development and training of the MA team will be done during the second month of the contract.

Briefing/debriefing arrangements

Meetings will be scheduled with the MA team to brief the selected vendor on the necessary background information to develop each of the requested deliverables.

Reporting

The company will work in close consultation and under the supervision of a task team of the MA, comprising the IT expert, the M&E unit and PR & Communication expert. They will follow up the design process and report to the ESAP team leader.

TASKS

Technical specifications

Following the ESAP Management Agency’s branding guidelines, the winning company is expected to design a new website capturing the following functionalities:

•  The company will develop a graphic concept and the visual language  (typography, colors, pictures, graphs and general appearance) of the new website;
• Fully functional for any type of device – desktop/laptop computers as well as hand-held devices such as tablets and mobile phones;
• Fast loading times, taking into consideration various connectivity conditions in the country, interactive and easy to navigate;
• The front end or the web application shall use HTML 5, css3 and the modern front-end frameworks;
• Consistent visual language shall be used by introducing fixed styles in templates, ensuring consistency in fonts, formatting, icons, images, layout techniques;
• Standard page elements including header, footer, tabs, persistent navigation, contact us, email and page print options shall be included in the template designs;
• Clear and strong text, image and audio display modules;
• The vendor shall create responsive CSS and graphic design elements;
• Advanced search functions that present and avail all searched files;
• Different templates for different menus;
• Link content and add blog posts;
• Tabbed content areas that allow visitors to view news, popular articles, latest articles, most commented articles, etc.;
• Social media shall interface seamlessly with the website to make ESAP visible to the world and to boost website traffic. Links to current popular and trusted social media channels for content sharing, and the ability to quickly and easily disengage social media as per MA management directions;
• The page shall allow for embedding code from websites such as YouTube, Vimeo/sound cloud, Moodle, etc.;
• Clear navigation path to find archived text, video and image content posted by ESAP. It shall also have a view of all publications that can be filtered by category;
• Language options for a bi-lingual setting (Amharic and English);
• Preferably built in a Content Management System (CMS);
• Hosted with a dedicated virtual machine, so that security updates and backups can be handled at the host’s end, or alternatively, equally suitable solutions shall be presented;
• Compatible with various browsers including IE11+, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari;
• Facility for interested parties to subscribe to the ESAP quarterly newsletter and a mass emailing feature to subscribers;
• Include the configuration of Google analytics to allow the MA to track website visits and visitors (e.g. see how many people are coming to our website, from where, how long they're staying and more);
• Incorporate security features to offer protection against internet security risks;
• Allow for integration of a web based monitoring and evaluation platform (plug-in) and Moodle learning content into our new website.  The M&E system will be designed separately by the winning vendor of an upcoming ESAP tender; and
• ESAP's content editor shall have the ability to add and edit meta data.

Knowledge Transfer

• Develop a user manual and train the MA team to perform content upload, system maintenance and administration.

Support and Maintenance

• Administrative and technical support and quality control for a period of 6 months and a one-year additional warranty period if the website needs maintenance.

Source Code Handover

• Full source code including all developed libraries shall be handed over to the ESAP Management Agency.

PROCESS

• The successful company will participate in briefing sessions with the ESAP MA team to understand the overall project and expectations;
• Based on the briefing session and this ToR, the company shall develop a layout design concept for the site. The vendor will share a maximum of three designs with the MA team;
• The company shall adjust the concept based on feedback and comments from the MA team;
• The vendor shall develop the visual concept and language for the site adapting it to the different components outlined in the section ‘technical specifications’ and adjusting it based on feedback and comments from the MA team;
• Development of web sections and content upload;
• Final approval by the ESAP MA; and
• Test the site before the website goes live. 

TIMELINE 

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL SUBMISSION STRUCTURE

Vendors that meet the required qualifications and are interested in this contract are invited to submit a proposal following this structure: 

Table of contents listing the sections below

• Section 1: Technical proposal - A description of how you plan to design ESAP’s website in line with the technical specifications above;  
• Section 2: Portfolio and testimonials - A portfolio of previous work of web design with similar functionalities (present at least five functional website links) with corresponding recommendation letters and contact addresses of previous clients;
• Section 3: Experience - CVs of the lead developer, graphic designer and graphical integrator in charge of this project to be included in the proposal;   
• Section 4: Timeline – Describe the timeframe you need to complete the aforementioned deliverables.
• Section 5: Annex - A valid license and trade registration

FINANCIAL OFFER

• The vendor shall submit a financial offer to address the work in a separate envelop. A proposed lump-sum fee and a breakdown of all costs shall be presented. The fee should be all-inclusive.

EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS  

Submissions will be evaluated based on the following evaluation criteria (total 100 points): 

• The degree to which the proposal meets required technical specifications [35 points]; 
• The portfolio presented by the firm, along with a minimum of three testimonials from former clients, will be evaluated to assess the quality of the company’s work as relevant to the tasks described in this ToR [30 points]; 
• Experience and qualifications of the team proposed to deliver the work by the company as demonstrated based on the CVs of the individuals comprising the team implementing the project [20 points]; 
• Timeline to deliver the objectives of the assignment [15 points]. 

If multiple vendors are awarded the same or similar scores based on the technical evaluation, price may become the deciding factor.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE  

Vendor shall demonstrate and provide examples of previous experience in the performance of similar services as follows:

• Be a reputable firm with at least 4 years of prior demonstrable experience designing visually appealing and navigation friendly websites;
• Familiarity and relevant experience in using different Content Management Systems (CMS);
• Have a broad knowledge of current web development technologies and design tools in the field, and new software and other web programming languages and programs including use of HTML, CSS, Java Script, PHP, ASP and MySQL;
• Demonstrate strong knowledge of recent trends in graphic design, websites, including online video publishing and social media networking;
• Demonstrate the ability to create innovative and visually appealing designs.

Proposal Requirements

• Qualified web designers must provide the following information:
• Summary of your company’s experience
• Renewed trade licenses, tax and bidder approval from the authorized body  
• Technical proposal
• Financial proposal
• Work sample portfolio, including websites your firm has designed and/or developed that are most relevant to this project. Include the client company name, phone number, contact name, type of work you performed, date of project completion, and the client website URL
• For more detail, please refer to the attached Terms of Reference 

Key professional staff qualifications and competence needed for the assignment:

Lead developer: The lead developer is responsible for the overall development process and assures that all code contributed is in line with coding standards. The lead developer has at least 5+ years of professional full-stack web application development experience. 

S/he is an expert in the following scripting and coding languages and standards: PHP, Java Script, HTML (including version 5), CSS (including version 3). Experience in these languages must be demonstrated in the developer’s CV.

S/he is an expert in the use and configuration of the below products and techniques: Search engine optimization, Google Webmaster tools, Google developer tools, mobile device adaptation. 

Graphic designer: The vendor will have a team of graphic designers with prior experience on designing websites with a solid portfolio of at least 3 years of experience. 

Graphical integrator: The graphical integrator supports the development team with the integration of graphic design and CSS elements. The graphical integrator has at least three years of experience with the CMS integration of responsive CSS and graphic design. The graphical integrator is an expert in the below scripting and coding languages and standards: HTML (including version 5), CSS (including version 3), PHP, Java Script (including JQuery).