UK Shipping Concierge Website

Description

Summary of the work Design and develop the UK Shipping Concierge (UKSC) branded website, with content management system for UK Shipping Concierge staff to manage content, hosted and support by supplier whilst adhering to latest brand guidelines by DIT and GDS Service Manual. Expected Contract Length Up to 1 year. Latest start date Monday 9 January 2023 Budget Range The budget for this requirement is up to £50,000. A breakdown of costs are available upon request during the clarification period, Why the Work is Being Done The UK Shipping Concierge is a one-stop shop for businesses wishing to interact with various UK Government departments, connectingshipping and maritime business with the right expertise when it’s needed.  The service is a 24/7 operating service with the purpose to bring business to the UK maritime sector bother domestically and internationally. The UK Shipping Concierge team requires a branded website to increase brand awareness and provide clear messaging and updates to our customers both internationally and domestically. Problem to Be Solved We are seeking an experienced delivery partner who can provide us with an exceptionally designed website that engages with both international and domestic markets, promoting the commercial proposition available here in the UK to grow the UK maritime sector. The website will include articles, almanacs inclusive of data content and compelling copy on the UK maritime offer. Users will need to be trained on the solution. Hosting, support and Search Engine optimisation will also be delivered by the supplier. Training maybe required to support with escalations for example if the site breaks. The hosting, support and Search Engine support will need to be managed by the partner but working with the MCA IT infrastructure Team and Technicians on these issues. The hosting will not be in the MCA tenant but they will require to provide a service wrapper for IT to contact the supplier . Who Are the Users Our customers are: External: Maritime Industry Leads: Ship Owners / Operators with the purpose to represent the UK Shipping Concierge Service externally as required. These customers will find information about the UK maritime offer – why and how they do business in the UK and what are the commercial levers to bring their business into the UK. They will be looking for data, statistics and commercial information about the UK offer. The next step will be to find contact information and enquire. DfT//HMRC/HO/FCO/BEIS/DiT including internationally based UK officials with the purpose to ensure seamless connectivity between Government departments on promoting maritime in the UK. These customers need to find out information about the UK Shipping Concierge and how they can support our agency / government department on supporting business in the UK maritime sector. This will be a key source of information for these customers and they will be directed via our website to our contact information should they not find what they need online. Early Market Engagement None. Work Already Done This project has received an exemption from GDS on 31/03/2022 and will be hosted independently from GOV.UK on the UK Shipping Concierge domain: www.ukshippingconcierge.co.uk It also has permission from the Government Communications Service and No.10 as part of the communications spend process. UKSC have developed brand guidelines working with the GREAT branding with DiT, including accessible colours and imagery. This will be available to the supplier and the marketing agency. Existing Team Internal MCA teams only including: UK Shipping Concierge Communications Team Current Phase Not started Skills & Experience • Demonstrate experience of developing cutting edge, engaging, dynamic templates that reflect an organisation’s brand. • Have a proven successful development of open source CMS including build of responsive templates and site publishing tools that meet the needs of content editors and website managers • Have experience of delivering cloud based or SaaS based website solutions. • Have experience of planning, documenting and communicating the design process and concepts in a clear, concise manner. • Have expertise in delivering services that meet Level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and government accessibility requirements. • Have the technical ability to support and maintain a secure hosting environment. Nice to Haves • Have experience in training users for CMS. • Have experience of GDS guidelines and principles. • Have experience of working with RSS and formatting xml feeds. • Have previous experience working with Public Sector clients. Work Location Most of the work should be conducted at the supplier's own site. However, we would expect the supplier to work at our offices when agreed by both parties its required. The Maritime & Coastguard Agency's main premises is located at: Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1EG. Working Arrangments Weekly stand ups for development with additional discussions for design and content. It may require less frequent stand ups which will be decided by both the partner and internal teams. Detailed working arrangements will be provided upon appointment and all expenses must align with the DfT Travel and Subsistence Policy. Security Clearance All suppliers personnel should, as a minimum, be cleared to Authority security clearance level of BPSS and must be available to begin work with immediate effect following contract award. CV's including security clearance evidence required for resource to be assigned will be evidenced at the written proposal stage. Additional T&Cs You should use the standard contract unless your organisation needs to include additional terms and conditions. Read about how the terms and conditions work: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/terms-and-conditions-of-digital-marketplace-frameworks Please ensure that you refer to all the government guidelines upon application. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria • The Technical Solution. • Approach & Methodology. • Project Plan. • Team Structure. • Value for Money. Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as a team with our organisation. • Be transparent, honest and collaborative. • Embrace our no blame culture and share learnings from mistakes. • Open to discussion with both technical and non technical team. Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Would you be able to clarify if the budget for this requirement of up to £50,000 is inclusive of 1 year hosting and support or primarily the initial website design and build. Please be advised that that budget for this requirement is split into the following subsections. 1 - Scoping, build and development of the website = £40,000.002 - Support and maintenance of the service = £10,000 (year 1+) 2. Is the budget for this requirement including or excluding VAT? Please be advised that the budget is excluding VAT. 3. Hosting, support and search engine optimisation will also be delivered by the Supplier. Does search engine optimisation only cover the initial setup, not ongoing content support? If it is ongoing, is there extra budget for this? Same questions for support, is there an expectation that the budget covers the first year of support? Please be advised that yes, this is the split for the 1st year of support. 4. Does the Authority have any ideas on the different types of content the website will need to have and how much content there is likely to be at launch? Please be advised that the content is mainly mixed media based: text, imagery, video and document depository / access. 5. How many content editors do you have who are responsible for managing content? Please be advised that there are circa 4 people that will likely be content managers. 6. RSS and formatting xml feeds - is this for new RSS feeds or do you have some specific data feeds in XML format you want to integrate into your website? Please be advised that there are a few feeds already in use, in this format. However any new feeds would be required from the respective MCA team. 7. Cloud based or SaaS based website solutions, are you expecting the website to be built via SaaS software, or is the question referring to cloud based website in general? Please be advised that MCAs requirement is Cloud based. 8. If we are successful in being shortlisted, will we have the opportunity to speak with you before submitting a proposal. Unfortunately we have to have consistent communications will all bidders and potential suppliers therefore cannot facilitate individual opportunities to meet with the respective technical teams. 9. Will the cost of hosting be included in the budget you have outlined? Please be advised that the Authority has responded to this question and the response is above. 10. You mention that the website will include almanacs inclusive of Data content, can you elaborate on what you mean? Please be advised that the repository financial and fiscal data documents relates to maritime audience and user base. 11. You will ask for work to adhere to to the GDS Service Manual. Will your chosen supplier have to carry out research services as part of this project, or will researchers from MCA input directly? Please be advised that the GDS service manual is a standard set of government guidelines for the operations of digital services and resources. This can be provided by MCA stakeholders such as IT and Communications on the specific approach.