NILGOSC Website Design, Build and Support

Description

Summary of the work Scope, design and build a new website to meet all NILGOSC’s requirements and implement within the required timescale and budget. In addition, provide support and maintenance services for 2 years post launch. The new website must be launched in January ‘21. Expected Contract Length 2 years with the possibility of an extension of up to 6 months. Latest start date Thursday 3 September 2020 Budget Range The total available budget for the build project is £25,000 (Exc. VAT). The ongoing budget for support and maintenance is £200pm (Exc. VAT) from 8 January 21 to 3 September 2022 (i.e. £5,000) and the same budget applies for the permitted extension. Why the Work is Being Done NILGOSC's current website at, www.nilgosc.org.uk, was designed in 2013 and the overall design and user-experience has since had minimal updates. The website is the primary source of pension information for members and participating employers. Significant improvements are required to modernise the look and feel of the website, the CMS, search, navigation, forms and the mobile/tablet experience along with meeting new accessibility requirements (effective September 2020) necessitating the development of a new website. Problem to Be Solved The replacement website will provide an enhanced stakeholder experience to meet the expectations of a portal developed in 2020 that meets all of NILGOSC’s requirements which include but are not limited to: - Accessibility requirements - Access of information in an engaging, interactive and accessible format depending on the device that is being used - Link to calculators - Embedded videos - Website is hosted externally and must be compatible with Windows Server 2019 and IIS 10.0 - Guaranteed 99.99% uptime - Requirements will be fully developed through the scoping phase of the contract. The new platform should be designed and built in such a way that the website and associated functionality can be maintained and content updated by NILGOSC or another 3rd party at the end of the 2 year contract. Who Are the Users The Local Government Pension Scheme has 136k members and 170+ employers who rely on information provided on the website. As a member I want to understand my pension, what it costs and be able to message, complete and submit forms online. As a pensioner I want to know my payment dates. As an employer I need to know how to administer the Scheme. As an employee I want to use the website as a source of information and documents. As a potential employee I want to read about NILGOSC and job opportunities. The Communication team wants to be able to amend, create, delete, upload documents, videos and calculators. As a member of the general public I need to know what NILGOSC does. Early Market Engagement Not applicable Work Already Done The scope, design, content of the new website will be informed by the output of both member and employer satisfaction surveys and a 2019 accessibility audit performed by a third party while recognising the website access preferences of the various stakeholders. Existing Team The supplier will work with NILGOSC's small Communication Team led by the Pensions Manager. They will also work with the internal IT Department and externally, IT Assist, who host NILGOSC's website. There may be some contact with the existing website provider to retrieve existing content/files. There may be also be contact with the external host of the website servers. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Experience in designing and building responsive websites across a range of devices • Experience building websites fully compliant with the WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard to AA level • The resources to ensure delivery of the website by January ‘21 • Project management experience of developing and delivering to a project management plan and implementation timetable • Experience of developing large information heavy websites • Ability to select an appropriate CMS • Experience in providing training for users in the selected CMS • Experience in scoping requirements for the build • Experience in providing support, maintenance and development services post launch • Experience of search engine optimisation and improving the search engine post launch Nice to Haves • Any general certifications e.g. ISO certifications • Experience of working with government bodies to deliver their websites • Experience of working with public sector teams with little or no experience of software development Work Location The supplier will need to attend (probably virtual) meetings with NILGOSC staff. The office address is Templeton House, 411 Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 2LP. Working Arrangments The development and design work may be done remotely but the supplier must be available for meetings/calls with NILGOSC re project management. We expect there to be some workshops to agree deliverables and feed into the design options and also workshops during the build phase. We require regular status updates detailing progress, achievement of milestones and any issues that may impact the project. Once the website is live, then it is expected that most contact would be by email or phone. It is estimated that the project scope, design, build, testing and installation will take 4 months. Security Clearance No security clearance required. Additional T&Cs The Call-Off Contract terms and conditions at Part B shall be amended to cover Northern Ireland i.e. Clause 43.1 shall be replaced by the alternative clause as set out in Schedule 10 in the form. Clause 44 shall have the definition of 'law' amended to cover the Interpretation Act in Northern Ireland and the definition of 'Working Day' shall be replaced with an alternative clause in schedule 10, again to include Northern Ireland. NILGOSC may wish to have a separate Data Processing Agreement inserted as a schedule. Additional terms and conditions to be agreed. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Proposed approach and methodology demonstrating how it will meet NILGOSC's needs, those of its stakeholders and delivery requirement • Provide a timeline and explain how the supplier will ensure that the new website is launched on time • How the supplier will ensure that the WCAG 2.1 AA standards will be met • Proposed team (including structure, roles, qualifications, experience and responsibilities) • Risks and how they will be managed • How the supplier will provide value for money Cultural Fit Criteria • Work effectively with the NILGOSC Communications Team • Work with NILGOSC staff who may have a low level of technical expertise • Demonstrate transparency regarding work outsourced to any other suppliers • Be transparent and collaborative in decision-making Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 5% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Your problem to be solved statement includes: "Website is hosted externally and must be compatible with Windows Server 2019 and IIS 10.0" Do you require the proposed solution to work on Windows and if so, why? We are in contract with a host company from whom we lease a dedicated virtual Windows Server 2019 webserver with IIS 10.0 as their main hosting platform. The requirement is that the proposed solution is compatible with this. 2. Your problem to be solved statement includes: " Guaranteed 99.99% uptime" – This seems to be a statement about hosting a website. Is hosting included? If not, how can the developer of a website guarantee uptime? Hosting is not included. It is agreed that a website developer cannot guarantee uptime and this requirement is withdrawn. 3. Ongoing budget for support and maintenance is £200pm (Exc. VAT)Do you require the CMS security updates to be covered under the allocated support and maintenance? Yes. 4. Calculators: You mention that there is a need to link to calculators yet further down there is also a mention that calculators may need to be amended, created, deleted, uploaded. Are you using an external service to create these calculators/ are they hosted on an external site? If they need to be located on your site, do they need to be able to be custom made in the CMS? The current NILGOSC website links to 4 calculators that are externally created and hosted on an external site. One calculator ‘How much the new Scheme will cost me’ is custom made in the CMS. 5. You mentioned that you have a "2019 accessibility audit performed by a third party " what has been covered in this audit? This was an audit of the current NILGOSC website to identify accessibility barriers and to provide guidance on how to remove barriers to prevent older people and those with disabilities being excluded. It evaluated the current website against WC3 Web Content Accessibility Guideline 2.0 up to conformance level AA. 6. Who will be in charge of creating content for the new website? Is this the responsibility of the supplier or will this be handled by NILGOSC's Communication Team? NILGOSC’s Communication Team will be responsible for creating and adding content. 7. Do you have a particular preference on the Content Management System used? Or if not, are there any particular Content Management Systems you do not want to be used? We have no preference for the Content Management System used. 8. What are the insurance requirements? Regarding: Employer’s Liability Insurance, Public Liability Insurance, Professional Indemnity Insurance The Framework Agreement specified the following for Suppliers:Employer’s Liability Insurance – at least £5,000,000We would therefore expect this to be in place.The Call-Off Terms and Conditions specify for subcontractors/advisers:Public Liability Insurance – a minimum of £5,000,000Professional Indemnity Insurance – a minimum indemnity of £1,000,000 for each individual claim.We would apply the same minimum insurance levels to the Supplier for Public Liability Insurance i.e. £5,000,000 and £500,000 as a minimum indemnity for each individual claim under Professional Indemnity Insurance. 9. Is wordpress a reasonable option for use as a suitable CMS? We have no preference for the Content Management System used. 10. What CMS is the current website using? The current website has a proprietary CMS.