UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) 50TH ANNIVERSARY WEBSITE
RFP CB14-MK-0010
SUBMITTED BY THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT
Summary The University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) requests proposals for the planning, design, development, and deployment of a website celebrating the university’s 50th anniversary. This website will, in concert with our other media initiatives, engage current students, alumni, faculty, and staff in telling the story of the university’s past and connect that story to the university’s mission and future goals. This document outlines the university’s primary objectives for this project, the resources and tools that the university currently uses to communicate via the web, and the requirements for the submittal of competitive proposals. About the University of Massachusetts Boston Founded in 1964 by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature, the University of Massachusetts Boston was the second campus in the UMass system. Classes began in 1965 in Park Square in downtown Boston. In 1974, UMass Boston opened its new Columbia Point campus. In 1982, Boston State College was incorporated into UMass Boston. The college brought with it several undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as faculty and staff who are still working at UMass Boston. The university has continued to add academic programs, grow its reputation for research, connect with communities and organizations around the world, and graduate leaders in politics, science, literature, and the arts. Today, the university serves more than 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 11 schools and colleges. For more information visit the University’s website at www.umb.edu. About the 50th Anniversary In 2014 UMass Boston will begin activities that celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the university. These activities include, but are not limited to: A commemorative book detailing the history of the university and projecting its future. A radio podcast series for WUMB featuring interviews with alumni, staff, and faculty, as well as archival audio from the past 50 years. A Mass Memories Roadshow event that will allow individuals with connections to the university to share images and stories from their time at UMass Boston. Continued development and expansion of the University Archives, which collects and digitizes critical documents and images from the university’s history. Building a Web Presence for the 50th Anniversary UMass Boston currently has an expansive web presence. In addition to the content found at umb.edu, we have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and SoundCloud. The 50th anniversary website will build upon that current web presence, while also providing a separate, special space to tell the university’s story.
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Deliverables The university seeks a turnkey website built on our Expression Engine content management system. The Contractor must supply all treatments, wireframes, graphic design elements, site structure, documentation, and populate the site with initial content. Audience The website should engage and address the interests of the university’s many constituents and stakeholders, whether familiar or unfamiliar with the university’s story. Among these are most importantly students and potential students; donors, prospective donors, and alumni; faculty and staff both past and present; and the public at-large. User Experience Visitors to the umb.edu/50 website will be treated to an interactive storytelling experience. They will be able to choose a variety of paths to learn about the university, and will encounter text, video, photos, and sound clips as they move through the site. Visitors should be able to select their path by era of history, type of media, and/or type of content. They should be engaged in a way that makes them feel both edified and entertained. Incorporating user-generated content is an important part of telling our story. Users should be able to record audio of their stories, or submit photos or text about their time at the university. The design of the site should encourage user participation. Design The 50th anniversary website should have a look and feel that is distinct from the current umb.edu home page, while still clearly expressing the UMass Boston brand identity. The site’s content should be easy to share over social media sites, and should give the user a seamless experience when posting content to their own social media pages. Content Management The university expects to continually add new content to the site throughout the 50th anniversary celebration. Our current website is built on the Expression Engine system. The 50th anniversary website must build upon that system, and allow existing users of Expression Engine to easily upload content to the new UMass Boston 50th anniversary website.
DELIVERABLES PHASE I Site Design and Development The successful Bidder will conduct, in conjunction with the university, a design phase that will define the design features and functionality of the 50th anniversary website:
The Contractor and UMass Boston will meet to confirm objectives, graphic look and feel, navigation, content management system, technology issues and assumptions, required functionality, phasing, and budget, resulting in a project brief generated by the vendor.
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The Contractor will provide wireframes, marker comps, and design samples to indicate the look and feel of the website. The Contractor will provide hardware, software, and implementation specifications for infrastructure, and work with the UMass Boston IT department to develop a strategy for successful integration of the site. The Contractor will provide an initial sitemap or user flow diagram as determined by conversations with UMass Boston. The Contractor will build all appropriate templates needed to implement the final site. The Contractor will provide a beta version of the site that demonstrates the majority of the back end and front end functionality, including use of Expression Engine. The Contractor will incorporate any changes requested by UMass Boston before site implementation.
PHASE II Site Implementation
The successful Bidder will work with the UMass Boston IT department to integrate the website into the existing IT infrastructure, and provide support during and after the site’s launch. The successful Bidder will provide training to relevant members of the UMass Boston staff – including training on content management. The successful Bidder will provide complete documentation of the 50th anniversary website that allows for continued maintenance and troubleshooting of said site.
Site requirements UMass Boston encourages creativity in the proposals submitted; however, there are certain requirements for the website project. The successful proposal must account for all of these requirements. Site must be compatible with IE, Safari, Mozilla-based browser versions 2.0 and higher; Internet Explorer versions 8.0 and up; and tested successfully on Windows, Apple OSX, and Linux operating systems Site template should meet W3C standards for best practices. Site must meet ADA requirements – developed to meet all federally-mandated access requirements adopted by the Federal Access Board under section 508 subsection 1194.22 of the Rehabilitation Act. Multiple style sheets may be required Site must be built with a responsive design that accommodates users on mobile devices. The site must successfully incorporate user-uploaded audio, video, photos and text into the design and functionality of the site. The site must incorporate social media share functions, allowing site visitors to promote our site content on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and email. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Proposal preparation Your proposal should be arranged in the following order, with the following section headings: RFP CB14-MK-0010
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1. Executive summary A two-to-three paragraph (~200 word) summary of the proposed solution, with budget and timeline numbers. 2. Confirmation of project scope An annotated bullet list of your understanding of the scope of work for this project. 3. Responses to questionnaire Your succinct but complete responses to each of the questions in the questionnaire section of this RFP, in the order the questions are posed. 4. Project budget and timeline estimate. High-level project cost and full project lifecycle timeline, from project kickoff to deployment. 5. References and Supporting Material Please include full contact information and URLs for at least three references. If you have additional supporting material, you may add it in appendix here. Company information 1. Please provide the Bidder’s name, address, URL, phone, and email information. Please identify the primary liaison for this RFP. Identify both the corporate headquarters and the support office for this project. 2. Please provide a brief history of the company, including the company’s technology and design focus and philosophy. 3. Please supply a brief corporate profile including revenue, size, and growth over the past three years. Experience 4. Please describe the range and depth of the Bidder’s working for or with higher education clients. How many such institutions has the company worked with in the last three years? What was the scope of these projects? 5. Please describe you company’s experience and expertise in developing sites that incorporate user-generated content. 6. Please describe you company’s experience incorporating social media into web design and development projects. 7. Please describe your company’s experience working on anniversary-specific websites, event-specific websites, institutional timelines, and/or leveraging archival photos and video in web design. 8. Please supply URLs representative of the vendor’s work that show publicly accessible sites the vendor has designed. 9. Please describe your company’s strengths and which areas you might bring in a subcontractor to supplement your team.
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10. Please describe your company’s experience building on content management systems in general and Expression Engine in specific. Project staffing 11. Please provide a breakdown of the staff members that the vendor proposes to use to staff this project, along with their working location. In appendix, please provide resumes for the staff that will be dedicated to the project. 12. Please provide brief bios of the project lead(s). 13. Please provide hourly rates for staff positions that may be used during the life of this project. Development methodology 14. Please give an overview of the company’s full lifecycle methodology, for both design and development. Include design and development philosophy, and how these integrate into a unified approach. 15. Please describe the company’s sensitivity to time, budget, and deliverables. Include an explanation of how the company resolves conflicts and controls scope, particularly in projects with many stakeholders. What constitutes a change in scope, and how will it be managed? Look and feel 16. Please describe the company’s approach to developing a look and feel for the web, including opinions about the use of web standards, approach to building consensus, and demonstration of effectiveness. Usability 17. Please describe the vendor’s philosophy of site usability, and precise methodology for requirement gathering, usability testing, and user acceptance.
Project management The Bidder will be expected to provide a well-qualified project manager to interface with the university community, whose responsibilities will include organization of project materials, communication, and all other resources and activities related to the UMass Boston web project. This includes communication with the university and management of concepts, direction, and strategy to the Bidder’s internal project team. Strict adherence to agreed timelines and deliverables must be followed as well as notification of delays, complications or communication barriers. Attendance by the project manager at meetings of the university website team is required. The Bidder will provide regular updates and timely responses to requests for updates by the Digital Communications Specialist and the Director of Communications at UMass Boston.
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EVALUATION CRITERIA Proposals will be evaluated on the completeness of the proposal, the adherence to the standards set forth here, and cost. The successful vendor will have significant experience in website design and development; demonstrate a sophisticated approach to design and architecture; and demonstrate creativity. The university reserves the right to select a vendor in any manner it desires, including but not limited to waiving stated requirements, negotiating further with vendors, discontinuing the evaluation process, awarding based solely on the merits of a proposal, excluding a respondent from consideration, or choosing not to award to any respondent. The university is under no obligation to explain why a vendor was or was not selected, to divulge the names of respondents, or to inform respondents of any course of action other than their selection or non-selection.
INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS Deadline for Submission of Questions Bidders may submit written questions via e-mail to
[email protected] on or before 5:00 pm EDT, on Wednesday, March 5, 2014. The email subject line must read: “CB14-MK-0010”. The university will compile all questions and email and addendum to all known bidders no later than 2:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Proposal Submission Process All proposals must be submitted to UMass Boston, Procurement Department in via email to
[email protected] on or before 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time or Eastern Daylight Time, whichever is in effect in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on Friday, March 14, 2014. Emails with a sent date and time stamp later than specify above will not be considered. Bidder’s proposals must be delivered as electronic MS Word or Adobe PDF documents with a subject line “CB14-MK-0010 Response.” The Procurement Department mailbox is capable of receiving emails up to 18 MB in size. If your response is larger than 18 MB, please split your response and send in 2 or more separate emails and indicate in the subject line that you are sending multiple emails, e.g. “CB14-MK-0010 – RESPONSE 1 of 2”. All emails containing your bid response must be received prior to the proposal deadline. Accept/Reject Proposal The university reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, wholly or in part; to waive technicalities, irregularities, and omissions; to make the award in a manner deemed to be in the best interest of the University; and to correct any award erroneously made as a result of a clerical error on the part of the University. Withdrawal of Proposal Proposals may be withdrawn at any time prior to the proposal receipt deadline date and time. Once the proposal receipt deadline has passed all proposals become the property of the University.
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Proposal Results Complete records of all proposals and awards are maintained in the University of Massachusetts President’s Office Purchasing Department. All bid documents will be made available for public examination after the bid evaluation committee has completed its bid review, selection and award. No University Obligation This RFP in no manner obligates the University to the eventual purchase of any products or services described, implied, or which may be proposed, until confirmed by written agreement, and may be terminated by the university without penalty or obligation at any time prior to the signing of an agreement. Accept/Reject Proposal The university reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, wholly or in part; to waive technicalities, irregularities, and omissions; to make the award in a manner deemed to be in the best interest of the University; and to correct any award erroneously made as a result of a clerical error on the part of the University. Proposal Results Complete records of all proposals and awards are maintained in the University of Massachusetts President’s Office Purchasing Department. All bid documents will be made available for public examination after the bid evaluation committee has completed its bid review, selection and award. No University Obligation This RFP in no manner obligates the University to the eventual purchase of any products or services described, implied, or which may be proposed, until confirmed by written agreement, and may be terminated by the university without penalty or obligation at any time prior to the signing of an agreement. Period of Firm Proposal All proposal offers must remain in effect for a minimum period of 120 days following the Proposal due date in order to allow for sufficient time for evaluation, approval, and issuance of award notice. The successful bidder’s offer will remain firm for the duration of any resulting award and extensions. Massachusetts Public Records Law Access to University records is made in accordance with the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, s. 10. All Responses received are subject to M.G.L. c. 4, s. 7, ss. 26, and M.G.L. c. 66, s. 10 regarding public access to such documents. Statements or endorsements inconsistent with those statutes will be disregarded. The university will withhold the Responses or sections of Responses until such time that they have been opened. The university will make available the documents within those Responses only upon the finalization of those records.
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Confidentiality The university reserves the right to review the content of vendor responses with internal or external persons for the purposes of deciding on a vendor. Proposal Preparation Cost Expenses for developing and presenting proposals shall be the entire responsibility of the Bidder and shall not be chargeable to the University. All supporting documentation and manuals submitted with this proposal will become the property of the university unless requested by the Bidder, in writing, at the time of the submission, and agreed to, in writing, by the university. Pre-Payments No Pre-Payments. Absent specific legislative authorization, no payments may be made in advance of receipt and acceptance of goods and services or other performance (cost reimbursement) unless payment is for an authorized obligation incurred by the contractor. University Terms and Conditions The successful respondent will be required to sign a University of Massachusetts Contract for Services Terms and Conditions. While respondents may object to or reject certain clauses, they do so at the risk of being considered non-responsive. Any term not objected to will be deemed to have been accepted by the respondent. This RFP, any addendum, any amendments, the respondent’s response, all additional agreements and stipulations, and the results of any final negotiations will constitute the final contract. Any changes to the contract must be agreed to, in writing, by both parties prior to their execution. Bidders Information and Signature The proposal offer shall be signed by an officer who is authorized to make such commitments for the bidder.
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Bid Offer and Proposal Bidders are required to sign this form and submit it with their bid proposal. To the University of Massachusetts, the undersigned proposes to provide services for the University of Massachusetts Boston in accordance with the terms specified below and the terms of this RFP: CB14-MK-0010. The undersigned also hereby declares that it is the only person or persons interested in this proposal, that the proposal is made without any connection with other persons making any bid for the same work; that no person or persons directly or indirectly interested in this proposal, or in any contract which may be made under it, is expecting profits to arise therefrom; and without directly or indirectly influencing or attempting to influence any other person bidding for the same work; and that this proposal is made with distinct reference and relation to the specifications prepared for this case and herein mentioned. The undersigned declares that, in regard to the conditions affecting the work to be done; this proposal is based solely on their own investigations and research and not in reliance upon any representations of any employee, officer, or agent of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Date: ___________________________________________________________________ Company/Firm Name of Bidder: _____________________________________________ Name of Signatory (Person signing below):____________________________________ Contact Name: ___________________________________________________________ Contact Telephone Number: _________________________________________________ Contact Business Address: __________________________________________________ Contact City and State: _____________________________________________________ Authorized Signature: _____________________________________________________ Printed Name and Title: ____________________________________________________ Date of Offer: ____________________________________________________________ Duration of Offer (minimum 120 Days) _________________________________________
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PROPOSAL FORM Staffing Please provide hourly cost breakdown of the staff members and titles that the bidder proposes to use to staff this project, along with their work location. Name
Title
Location
$ per hour
Please add additional information as needed.
Proposal Cost Phase I: Design Costs $ Phase I: Development Costs $ Please list any additional costs: $ Total cost $___________
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Business Reference Form Bidder: ___________________________________________________ RFP Name/Title: ___________________________________________ RFP Number #: ____________________________________________ The Bidder must provide 3 business references Reference Name: ___________________________Contact Person: _________________ Address: ______________________________________________ Phone ( ) _____________ Street City/Town State/ Zip Code Fax #:____________________ Email: _____________________________________________ Description and dates of commodities and service provided: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Reference Name: ________________________________Contact Person: _________________ Address: ______________________________________________ Phone ( ) _____________ Street City/Town State/ Zip Code Fax #:___________________ Email: _______________________________________________ Description and dates of commodities and service provided: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Reference Name: ________________________________Contact Person: _________________ Address: ______________________________________________ Phone ( ) _____________ Street City/Town State/ Zip Code Fax #:___________________ Email: _______________________________________________ Description and dates of commodities and service provided: ______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ References will be contacted to confirm the Bidder’s abilities and qualifications as stated in the Bidder’s Response. The University may deem the Bidder’s Response un-responsive if a reference is not obtainable from a listed reference after reasonable attempts.
______________________ (Authorized Signature)
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________________________ (Name & Title)
_____________________ (Date)
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