NOTE: CHANGED DELIVERY LOCATION Purchasing Services is scheduled to move to Room 160 on August 6, 2013.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: RFP 815 for District Website This request for proposal consists of 9 pages beginning with this one, excluding any Exhibits and Appendices, etc. Milwaukee Public Schools (“MPS”) is soliciting competitive sealed proposals from qualified professional firms to provide a new district website for both public and internal audiences, complying with all terms and conditions described in this document. Proposals will be accepted no later than 2:00 p.m. central time, August 28, 2013. Proposals received after this time will not be accepted. See 3.3 Submission of the Response. Mark all documents RFP 815. Mail or deliver all proposals and accessory documents to: MILWAUKEE PUBLIC SCHOOLS PURCHASING-ROOM 160 (Office of Finance) 5225 WEST VLIET STREET MILWAUKEE WI 53208 Proposals must be manually signed on this MPS form in the space provided below. Please submit 10 sets of your proposal. Clearly mark the original copy as “ORIGINAL” on the cover. I have read the terms and conditions of this RFP and submit for consideration the attached proposal and exhibits, if any. The fees and costs in this proposal have been arrived at independently, and have not been divulged, discussed, or compared with the proposals of other respondents. No attempt has been made nor will be made to induce any other person or firm to submit or not submit a proposal for the purpose of restricting competition. I acknowledge I have read and understand the HUB participation requirement, and that any proposed HUB participation is binding, real, and substantial as defined in Section 1.3. I acknowledge that there is no conflict of interest as defined in the Terms and Conditions for Request for Proposals found at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us (click on Vendors, then click on Terms and Conditions) unless otherwise expressly disclosed by attachment to this page. By signing below, Proposer agrees to the Terms and Conditions for Request for Proposals found at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us which are herein expressly incorporated by reference.
Company Name
Company Telephone Number
Company Address
Company Fax Number
City, State, Zip Code
Email Address
Authorized Signer’s Full Name and Title
Authorized Signature
Federal Tax ID Number
Date
1.0
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OVERVIEW Project Name: RFP Number: RFP Release Date: RFP Due Date:
District Website RFP 815 July 31, 2013 August 28, 2013
1.1
Definitions Contractor means each successful respondent awarded a contract. CCS means Contract Compliance Services District means the Milwaukee Public Schools. HUB (“Historically Underutilized Business”) means a for-profit business that is 51% or more owned, controlled, and managed by CERTIFIED minority, women, disadvantaged, emerging, SBA-8A or other MPS-targeted business owners who have been certified as such by an MPS-recognized agency. MPS means the Milwaukee Public Schools. Proposer/vendor/respondent means a firm submitting a response to this RFP. RFP means Request for Proposal. Student Engagement means a method of further educating MPS students through required MPS contractor involvement in career education and employment opportunities for students.
1.2
Scope of Services Sought MPS is soliciting competitive sealed proposals from qualified and established firms to provide all labor, equipment and services, including training and ongoing support, necessary to design, develop, and implement a new, innovative, state-of-the-art district website for both public and internal audiences with a unique and flexible design that meets the requirements of the District. Proposals will be considered from qualified and experienced vendors who are regularly established in the business of developing, implementing and maintaining versatile, state-of-the art websites using a robust enterprise or open-source content management system (CMS). In addition, the District is seeking proposals on alternatives for hosting and maintenance of the newly designed website. Migration of some content from the current platform (Portal) will be required, in addition to creating sections of the website with content provided by MPS. A school district website directly connects district and administrative resources to parents, staff, volunteers, the general community and students. It is critical that the district’s website be up-to-date, user-friendly, informative, easy to navigate and search and be an effective resource for the community. The website will be hosted on MPS servers or vendors will provide a suitable alternative. Vendor to provide details on best server platform their proposed system will run on. Through prior work performed, vendor must be able to show evidence of reliability, ability, flexibility, experience and personnel to perform the work requested. MPS reserves the right to request the replacement of personnel assigned by the Contractor with no notice and at no additional cost to MPS if, in MPS’ sole discretion, it is determined that the personnel does not adequately meet the needs of MPS or is unable to perform duties and responsibilities to the satisfaction of MPS. Expected deliverables: 1.
A state-of-the-art district website for MPS students, teachers, staff, parents and the community that reflects district branding standards. Contractor’s design team will work with district personnel to ensure alignment to district branding standards, which may change over time.
2
2.
The CMS/website platform will integrate with enterprise and third-party applications, including but not limited to: LDAP, PeopleSoft, Student Information System, Electronic School Board, Job listings with TAM program, Data Warehouse and online enrollment.
3.
The vendor’s proposed product will: a. Work as the district’s public website as well as an intranet for staff with integration of custom user dashboards and subscription (Teachers/Staffs/Parents/Students). b. Provide News/Blog feature for District news (RSS). c. Provide Multiple calendars: Lunch Menu/District events calendar – integrate with current third-party application (Active Data) or provide alternative solution. d. Provide a Mobile version – integrate with current bilingual mobile website, m.milwaukee.k12.wi.us built on the Drupal platform, or provide alternative solution of equal or superior standards. e. Provide multiple languages (English/Spanish) – without the use of a universal translation plugin (a mirror site), with the option to include additional languages in the future. f. Provide a state-of-the-art search engine. g. Provide Social Media sharing capabilities. h. Be compatible across all operating systems and browsers. i. Be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) compliant. j. Have a robust document library and provide alerts for document aging. k. Be visually appealing with an attractive mix of text, photos and graphics. l. Be easily accessed and navigated both internally to MPS and externally. m. Create a consistent and standardized format and enhanced graphical look for all pages; thereby establishing a unified theme throughout the District’s website. However, the established theme should also provide the flexibility to allow for different District functions. n. Provide an overall architecture that is conducive to future growth of information sharing, services and functions that is easily maintained by the District’s departmental personnel. o. Be able to track site analytics using Google Analytics. Maintenance software which includes reporting functions would be valuable. p. Have the ability to use create and use electronic submission forms. q. Provide ability for super users/content managers to create new pages easily within the CMS with easy access to standard formatted pages for consistency in design creation.
4.
Contractor will provide training and ongoing support for district personnel assigned to managing content on the new web platform. Vendor must provide on-site training for approximately seven “super” users. This training must be adequate for the “super” users to be competent in the operation of this product. MPS is the sole determinant when the “super” user has been trained to an adequate degree. Contractor will also provide detailed documentation for “super” users to train content managers on their function.
5.
The website shall be available to the public 24/7 with no downtime when updates to content or data are done and provide high-speed upload with minimal download response times for all types of equipment (i.e., highspeed and low-speed) in use by the public.
6.
The product proposed will allow for delegated content management. The District’s preferred website model calls for authorized District staff to have the ability to perform routine content management related to routine information such as the posting of meeting dates, agendas, minutes, departmental events, removing old and outdated information and general noticing. A staff webmaster(s) should have more comprehensive ability to provide quality control and the ability to update non-routine information. Therefore, a system needs to be structured for maintenance and updating capabilities by non-technical staff. The District is interested in a robust content management process and is open to ideas on how best to accomplish this aspect of the website. Describe your proposed product’s capabilities for different levels of delegated content management.
7.
The proposed solution shall be capable of backups; whether if MPS-hosted, where full control and backups will be performed by MPS or if the system is vendor-hosted, where the vendor will perform full backups. Describe your disaster recovery plan for either MPS-hosted or vendor-hosted.
3
8.
The Contractor will provide support in a timely manner as required by MPS through phone, email, remote connection, and onsite meetings when necessary.
9.
The proposed solution must meet the MPS’ Technical, Performance, Data Exchange and Integration requirements (Exhibit A). Any questions regarding these requirements shall be submitted will all others as directed in 3.1 Communication/Questions. Vendor to provide details on best server platform their proposed system will run on.
10. The Contractor is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all interfaces for the life of the product, if applicable, or provide training for district staff to do so if MPS-hosted. 1.3
Contract Compliance Services (CCS) Requirements In educating the children and youth of Milwaukee, MPS is also a primary purchaser of goods and services in the Milwaukee marketplace. MPS believes it is obligated to display in its own operations the values of excellence, diversity, and economic responsibility that it strives to teach its students. To that end, many MPS contracts require the use of Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) firms and the engagement of the MPS contract awardee in Student Employment and/or Student Career Education activities. The HUB participation requirement for this RFP is 0% per 12-month contract. The Student Engagement Requirement for this RFP is: 300 hours of Student Employment per 12-month contract 20 hours of Career Education per 12-month contract All information relating to the HUB participation requirement and the Student Engagement Requirement, including all forms that must be filled out, can be found at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us (click on Vendors, then click on Forms), which is herein expressly incorporated by reference. Note: Even if there are no HUB or Student Engagement requirements, you must still fill out the Prime Vendor Information Sheet, found at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us. (This information will not be used in making any award and is kept solely for statistical reporting purposes to the Board of School Directors). If a HUB participation requirement has been assigned, vendors must submit a HUB Utilization Plan. If a Student Engagement requirement is assigned, the following forms are required to be filled out at bid submission Schedule H1A Student Employment Commitment Form and Schedule H1-B Student Career Education Plan Commitment.. If both HUB and Student Engagement requirements are assigned, all forms related to both requirements must be addressed in the response. Please note that Proposers’ status as a 501(c)(3) does not exempt it from these requirements.
For the following form(s) whose box is checked below, respondents must complete and return the forms with submission or your RFP will be rejected as non-responsive. The required forms are attached to this RFP. Fillable versions of these same forms can also be found at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us (click on Vendors, then click on Forms). If you use the fillable version of the forms, you must still print, sign, and attach to your RFP submission.
Appendix A- HUB Utilization Plan (If box is checked, current certification document, with NAICS code, must be submitted with RFP response.) Appendix B- Prime Vendor Information Sheet (Mandatory for every RFP response.) Schedule H1-A Student Employment Commitment Schedule H1-B Student Career Awareness/Education Plan/Commitment
4
MPS’ CCS Manager will be the sole judge of the suitability and completeness of the returned forms and assign a “Pass”/ “Fail” determination accordingly. Responses determined to have “Failed” will be rejected as non-responsive. For information on MPS’ HUB program, contact the Office of Contract Compliance Services at
[email protected] . Note: In the event that this RFP does not contain any specific mandatory HUB requirement, MPS reserves the right to assign to proposers who utilize an MPS certified HUB vendor up to 10 additional points. To be eligible to receive these points, proposers must detail in their proposal what role the HUB subcontractor will be responsible for in the project. HUB forms can be found at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us must be completed and returned with your proposal. MPS’ CCS Manager will be the sole judge of the suitability of the proposed utilization of the HUB subcontractor and assign points accordingly. For information on MPS’ CCS program, contact the Office of Contract Compliance Services at
[email protected] . 2.0
ABOUT MILWAUKEE PUBLIC SCHOOLS It is expected that successful vendors will establish a strong partnership with MPS. As a strong partner, successful vendors will need to become fully acquainted with the business of MPS: Educating Milwaukee’s children. For a full description of Milwaukee Public Schools, its mission, demographics, and vision can be found at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
3.0
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE VENDOR
3.1
Communication/Questions Vendors are expected to raise any questions, or additions they have concerning the RFP document as soon as they become aware of them. Any questions or requests for clarifications must be directed in writing to
[email protected]. The subject line of the email must be labeled “RFP 815 - Question.” Questions are due no later than 8:00 a.m. Central time on August 12, 2013. The only contact allowed with MPS staff is through
[email protected], as stated above. Unauthorized contact of any MPS employee is cause for rejection of the RFP response. Any additional information or clarifications that are provided to one bidder will be provided to all bidders in the form of an addendum posted to the MPS portal at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us. Vendors are responsible for checking this site for any addenda that may be issued.
3.2
Calendar of Events The dates set forth below are for informational purposes only. All dates are tentative and subject to change. Milestone Date Issue RFP July 31, 2013 Deadline for Submission of Written Questions August 12, 2013 Proposal Due Date August 28, 2013 Vendor interviews, if necessary September 10-17, 2013
3.3
Submission of the Response Respondent must submit 10 sets. Please clearly mark the original copy as “ORIGINAL” on the cover: Milwaukee Public Schools Purchasing Services 5225 W. Vliet St., Room 160 (Office of Finance) Milwaukee WI 53208
NOTE: CHANGED DELIVERY LOCATION. Purchasing Services is scheduled to move to Room 160 on August 6, 2013. Deliveries prior to that date should be made to Room 1.
The original proposal must be time-stamped no later than 2:00 p.m. central time on the due date indicated using the time clock in the Purchasing Office. Proposals not stamped will not be evaluated. Receipt of a proposal by the District mail system does not constitute receipt of a proposal by the Purchasing Office for purposes of this RFP.
5
All responses must be packaged, sealed, and show the following information on the outside of the package: Respondent’s name, address, and the request for proposal number and title. Sets (original and copies) must be collated and each set must be bound in a manner to make each set readily apparent and complete, or your response will be considered non-responsive. 3.4
Evaluation Criteria An MPS evaluation committee will be established to evaluate proposers’ responses to each of the RFP requirements. Each response will be reviewed, discussed, evaluated, and ranked by each of the committee members. Proposals should be complete on their face. However, after opening of responses, MPS reserves the right to waive irregularities in any proposal, to request clarifying information it deems appropriate from one or more respondents, to request supplemental information from all of the respondents, and to factor any additional information into the evaluation. MPS may or may not require oral presentations of a group of finalists in person or on the telephone and may request further information from those finalists. Proposals will be ranked based on the following criteria: Criteria HUB/Student Engagement Requirements Responsiveness Signed Cover Page Cost Proposal Form Vendor Qualifications/Experience with Like Projects Vendor Background Quality of Proposed Solution
Cost
Description Compliance with the HUB and Student Engagement requirements set forth in section 1.3 on the forms specified. Compliance with proposal submission requirements Proposer must submit the cover page signed by an authorized signatory Your cost must be set forth on the Cost Proposal Form or will not be considered responsive and will not be reviewed. Proof of Proposer’s financial stability. Experience of firm in providing like projects to like institutions
Points Pass/Fail Pass/Fail Pass/Fail Pass/Fail 15%
Experience of staff, creativity
15%
Quality of proposed methodology and approach to project and ability of Proposer to meet District’s needs, including description of proposed product (software/CMS/platform) and how well the product proposed addresses the expected project deliverables Pricing proposed
40%
30%
MPS reserves the right to request one or more respondents to a Best and Final Offer (“BAFO”) process. BAFOs may be used when no single response addresses all the specifications, when the costs submitted by all Proposers are too high, when two or more Proposers are virtually tied after the evaluation process, or when all Proposers submitted responses that are unclear or deficient in one or more areas. If a BAFO is utilized, Proposers may be required to submit revisions to the RFP response. MPS will send out a BAFO request to invited respondents that will set forth the areas of the proposal to be covered, and the date and time by which the BAFO must be returned. All respondents will be treated equally and no information will be transmitted from one respondent about the other respondent’s offer during the process. MPS reserves the right to apply additional criteria not listed in the original RFP to the BAFO process, but any additional criteria will be disclosed to Proposers in the BAFO request. MPS will open negotiations with the highest ranked after evaluation, interviews, or BAFO process. MPS reserves the right to open negotiations with the second highest-ranked vendor if negotiations with the highest ranked vendor are not successful, etc. MPS reserves the right to delete or add services until the final contract signing. 4.0
PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT Responses are to be formatted and tabbed in the form and sequence described in Section 4. Responses not following the format outlined will not be considered. The evaluation and selection of a vendor will be based on the information submitted in the vendor’s response. Elaborate proposals (i.e. expensive artwork) beyond that sufficient to present a
6
complete and effective response, are not necessary or desired. Additional data can be provided in appendices. Quality, not quantity, is desired. 4.1
Response Organization TAB A: Signed Cover Page The MPS cover page must be signed by a vendor representative authorized to make contractual obligations and submitted as Tab A of the response. Please include all contact information. Failure to include this in your response will result in rejection of the RFP. TAB B: RFP Response (Excluding Price) Section 1: Vendor Qualifications/Experience with Like Projects (15%) Section 1.1 Provide a description of the Proposer’s firm, including history; number of years the Proposer has been in business; type of services provided; and legal status of Proposer’s organization, i.e. corporation, partnership, etc. Section 1.2 Provide documentation to verify the Proposer possesses adequate financial support, assets, and organization to provide the products and services required in this RFP. This may take the form of financial statements, credit ratings, a line of credit, or other financial arrangements sufficient to enable the offeror to be capable of meeting the requirements of this RFP. Section 1.3 Provide related project experience by including no fewer than three URLs of websites developed for large, urban school districts or organizations of a similar size. These should ideally be examples for which the staff proposed to work with MPS have played a role. Section 1.4 Provide letters of performance support from no fewer than three past clients from large, urban school districts or organizations of a similar size. Include the names of the individual(s) you would propose MPS contact, together with phone numbers and company names and addresses. These should ideally be references for which the staff proposed to work with MPS have played a role. Note: MPS reserves the right to contact or visit any party listed as a reference that has previously used, or is presently using, your products or services in a manner similar to those proposed by the vendor. MPS also reserves the right to use other sources to obtain information about the proposed products and services. Section 1.5 Provide demonstrated capabilities to provide all services requested, or provide list of robust partnerships proposed to complete project. Information of work to be performed by partners/subcontractors should be complete and detailed.
Section 2: Vendor Background (15%) Section 2.1 Provide a description of the Proposer’s creative and development approach to this project. Section 2.2 Provide demonstrated certifications, degree and experience of all team members or partners who would be assigned to work on this project. Describe process for identifying and replacing personnel, if necessary, during term of contract. Replacement or substitution of personnel proposed shall require prior approval of MPS. Describe the process for replacement if MPS requests the replacement of personnel assigned by the Contractor if,
7
in MPS’ sole discretion, it is determined that the personnel does not adequately meet the needs of MPS or is unable to perform duties and responsibilities to the satisfaction of MPS. Section 3: Quality of Proposed Solution (40%) Section 3.1 Describe any information that MPS must supply and/or any other resources MPS must supply in order for the vendor to complete the required deliverables. Vendor is responsible for the provision of all resources not specifically listed herein. Section 3.2 Provide a description of the proposed product (software/CMS/platform) including the product highlights and features. Section 3.3 In this section, your response must provide detailed information as to how the vendor will meet or exceed the requirements set forth in Section 1.2. Label your response to correspond to the requirement in Section 1.2 to which you are responding for Expected Deliverables 1- 10, including #3 a-q. Section 3.4 Provide an estimated timeline/work plan to perform the services required for intranet and internet, indicating major milestones and the estimated amount of time required for each phase. Indicate evidence of success and also the methodology used to meet proposed timeline. Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to, Needs Assessment, Design, Development, Conversion of Existing websites/ Implementation, and Training. Specify the areas where services will be provided as well as clearly specifying the responsibility areas of the MPS. Section 3.5 If you do not have a local (Milwaukee metropolitan area) office, describe your methodology for working and communicating closely with previous clients located in a city in which you did not have a permanent local presence. Section 3.6 Describe maintenance services included in your RFP response for either Vendor-Hosted Option A or MPS-Hosted Option B. Label the specifics for each Option. TAB C: RFP Response (Cost Proposal Worksheet) (30%) You must fill out the Cost Proposal Worksheet (Exhibit B) with your pricing. If the Cost Proposal is not clear, you may ask questions as set for herein in section 3.1 Failure to include your pricing on the Cost Proposal Worksheet will result in rejection of the RFP. Do NOT submit cost information in any other format. TAB D: Contract Compliance Services (“CCS”) Requirements Information See 1.3 Contract Compliance Services (CCS) Requirements for details. If a HUB requirement has been assigned, vendors must submit a HUB Utilization Plan. If a Student Engagement requirement is assigned, the following forms may be required to be filled out: Employer Request for Student Employment; Student Education and Career Awareness Plan; Student Employer/Career Education Commitment Form. If both HUB and Student Engagement requirements are assigned, all forms related to both requirements must be addressed in the response. Regardless of whether there is a HUB engagement requirement, submit the Prime Vendor Information Sheet. This information will not be used in making an award and is kept solely for statistical reporting purposes. All of these forms and comprehensive information regarding these requirements may be found at http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
8
Please note that Proposers’ status as a 501(c)(3) does not exempt it from these requirements. TAB E: Designation of Information as "Confidential" or "Proprietary" You may fill out and submit the “Request to Designate Information as Confidential or Proprietary” form found at http://milwaukee.k12.wi.us (click on Vendors, then click on Forms) if you seek to designate any portion of your response as confidential or proprietary. Please note that the Board is bound by the Wisconsin Public Records Law, and as such, all of the terms of this Contract are subject to and conditioned on the provisions of Wis. Stat. § 19.21, et seq TAB F: Additional Materials, Brochures, Etc. Please only include relevant and necessary information. 5.0
Contracts MPS will not sign a vendor’s forms or contracts. Unless otherwise indicated, awarded vendor will be required to sign MPS’ Professional Services Contract found at http://milwaukee.k12.wi.us (click on Vendors, then click on Forms).
6.0
Appeals Appeal may be filed at any time during the procurement process, but not later than 5 days after Procurement’s public notification of bid tabulation and recommendation of award. Information on the written appeal process is available at: http://mpsaccountability.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Bid_RFP-Appeals-Form.pdf
9
