CELP Request For Proposal - Ontario Presents · Request’For’Proposal’3’! Overview Founded...

Request For Proposal Community Engagement Learning Platform May 2015

Request For Proposal 2

Table of Contents

Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Proposal Guideline and Requirements ........................................................................................... 3 CONTRACT TERMS ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Key Features ................................................................................................................................. 4

Further Description of Requirements for the Site .......................................................................... 4 User Management ............................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Blogging ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Document and Information Sharing ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Survey and Poll Tools ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Discussion Forum ................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Calendar Functions ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Training & Documentation ............................................................................................................................................................. 5

RFP Process ................................................................................................................................... 6 Timeline .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Budget ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Qualifications ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Format For Proposals ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Submission ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Terms and Conditions ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Appendix ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 13 Potential Website Template ......................................................................................................................................................... 13


Overview Founded in 1988 as CCI - Ontario Presenting Network, Ontario Presents is a member-based, not-for-profit arts service organization that works to support the arts presenting sector in Ontario. The network is comprised of performing arts organizations and professionals who work collaboratively to improve arts presentation practice in the Province of Ontario. Ontario Presents is in the process of developing an online, learning platform for our constituencies to learn about community engagement and enhance their presenting practices. We are looking for web developers who are experts in developing intuitive, online, learning platform/websites. This platform would provide various educational tools, presented in different forms (video, images, forums, etc) to help users learn in the most effective and intuitive manner. The primary goal of the platform is to provide an easily navigable, visually appealing, functional site that the arts leaders will use to obtain and share information within the network with the goal of strengthening the ties with the diverse communities that they serve.

Proposal Guideline and Requirements This is an open and competitive process. The price you quote should be inclusive. If your price excludes certain fees or charges, you must provide a detailed list of excluded fees with a complete explanation of the nature of those fees (e.g., hosting). If the execution of work to be performed by your company requires the hiring of sub-contractors you must clearly state this in your proposal. Sub-contractors must be identified and the work they will perform must be defined. In your proposal please provide the name and contact information of the sub-contractor. Ontario Presents will not refuse a proposal based upon the use of sub-contractors; however, we retain the right to refuse the sub-contractors you have selected. Provisions of this RFP and the contents of the successful responses are considered available for inclusion in final contractual obligations. There is a requirement that there not be a licensing fee for any of the tools or technologies used to develop the site which is passed on to Ontario Presents.


CONTRACT TERMS The Project will be awarded upon signing of an agreement with a selected proponent. Proponents may submit a draft agreement with the proposal but any agreement will be subject to review by and approval of the Client's legal counsel.

Key Features Here is a brief summary of the some key features that the site will implement. A more detailed description of some these features and of other features is in the next section (see Appendix for more details)

• The site will be based on a content management system (CMS), preferably open source, such as Drupal

• There will be an interactive area, where people will be invited to submit their community engagement project descriptions for inclusion

• There will be an area where people will find links to interesting articles and other such things. It will also be consistently growing as others make recommendations about reading or documentation that would be helpful for those committed to community engagement.

• There will be chat/forums where people will be able to discuss events and issues • Document repositories will be provided, to allow sharing of documents of interest to the

groups, such as grant applications, artist material, and training documents • There will be various visual representations of definitions and ideas incorporated into

graphics • There will be ability to add imbedded video on the site (YouTube, Vimeo, etc) • There will be one or more blog type pages as well as about static pages on the site, to

relay information to constituencies (ability to add pages) • Certain pages can be subscribed to, with delivery either via RSS or email • A calendar view will be available, to submit community engagement events • The site will provide the ability for interactive surveys to help people navigate to right

information and learn in a “playful” manner • The site will provide the ability for creation of web forms for collecting information • Access to edit content must be controllable on a page by page level • Certain areas of the site will be password protected, and will require login

Further Description of Requirements for the Site User Management Possible user levels may include administrator (full access to all features), content editor, and guest. This set of permissions is intended as a guide only, and the site should provide the ability for the administrator to create, manage, and customize roles across all content on the site. Although much of the information on the site will be publicly available there will be some features and sections that will be available only to certain groups.


Learning Modules Assist in making the presentation engaging, and dynamic where needed

Blogging Some portion of the content on the site will be blog based, to provide relevant and timely content. Standard blog functionality is expected, including interactive ability, allowing visitors to leave comments.

Document and Information Sharing The main purpose and focus of the site is on providing access to information. Some examples of this are web links, documents, funding information, and a calendar of events. In addition, web form creation will allow for collection of specific information as needed. The site will need a layout that enables effective access to this information, and must be extensible to provide access to other types of information if they become relevant.

Survey and Poll Tools The site should provide the ability for interactive surveys to help people navigate to right information and learn in a more interactive manner. Results of the polls should be selectable to be public (visible to users), private (visible to survey administrators only), or anonymous polls in which only the response summary is known.

Discussion Forum Discussion forum should be interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the forum. This forum can be seen as a form of social networking service. Website visitors produce content to post on the forum, and build social relations with each other. Forum should be able to be optionally moderated and the forum administrator user setup should tie into the site user management.

Calendar Functions The site should support main calendar where both administrator and website users can upload their community engagement events, moderated by administrator.

Training & Documentation Complete user documentation must be presented with the final site. This documentation should be focused on the administrator level users, and provide them with adequate information to train all other users, manage content, set up forms and calendars, etc. In addition, 8 hours of on site or web training (method to be decided by OP) must be provided as part of the site cost. Please see Appendix on Page 13 for more details.


RFP Process

Timeline This RFP is dated July 20th, 2015. Proposals are due no later than September 1, 2015. Proposals will be evaluated immediately thereafter. During this time we may require interviews at our office or by phone with our evaluation team. You will be notified if an interview is required. Phase I of the Project (essential site features) must be completed and delivered by December 2015.

Budget Please provide several cost proposals to accomplish the scope outlined. The budget must encompass all design, production, and software acquisitions necessary for development and maintenance of the web site. List pricing for: • Site Features • Hosting: Pricing for hosting is required only if an environment other than that provided by Start Communications is required. Provide more detail on the information required if Start Communications' environment cannot be used (see below).

Qualifications List at least three web sites your firm has produced that best reflect your work and relevancy to the Project. Briefly list the role your firm played in each of these projects. The URL should be submitted. Only sites that are live will qualify during evaluation. Describe your experience in producing learning sites for non-profit and/or community-focused projects. Provide current reference information for three former or current clients. Briefly describe your firm’s organizational capacity to produce our web site (e.g. staff, equipment, software, physical space, office location, etc.). Provide a company profile, length of time in business and core competencies. What type of team will be assigned to this Project? What will each person’s role be? Please include a brief background summary for each key staff member assigned to this Project. Please discuss your testing and support plan.


Please explain your service level agreement (SLA) structure. The time frame for completion of the Project will be evaluated when reviewing the proposal. In addition, time frames will be part of the contractual agreement; therefore, a realistic time frame for completion is requested. Process to include input from all program areas. Please state how you intend to communicate with all program areas to gather all of the required information. Provide a copy of your proposed contract.

Evaluation Criteria The criteria contained within this document will form the basis upon which Ontario Presents will evaluate proposals. Proposals that meet the requirements, as stated in this document, will be evaluated with the following criteria:

• Suitability of the Proposal – the proposed solution meets the needs and criteria set forth in the RFP.

• Expertise in recommending and communicating appropriate technical and aesthetic solutions as evidenced by the proposal and references.

• Aesthetic Capabilities – Prior work demonstrates artistic and innovative, user-friendly interfaces that engage communities and viewers.

• Candidate Experience – Candidate has successfully completed similar projects and has the qualifications necessary to undertake this Project.

• Value/Pricing Structure and Price Levels – The price is commensurate with the value offered by the proposer.

• Depth and Breadth of Staff – The candidate firm has appropriate staff to develop the site in the time frame needed.

• Proposal Presentation – The information is presented in a clear, logical manner and is well organized.

• Demonstrated commitment to high service level agreements (SLA).


Format For Proposals Please use the following as a guideline to format your proposal: Length and Font Size: Please use fonts no smaller than 10 point. Maximum proposal length including title page, cover letter, proposal, qualifications and budget should not exceed 35 pages (not including Hosting information). Title Page: Ontario Presents Community Engagement Learning Platform Development Proposal, your company name, address, web site address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and primary contact person. Cover Letter: Signed by the person or persons authorized to sign on behalf of the company. Proposal: Discuss your proposed solution, including the features and benefits of your solution. You should also touch on your ability to deliver the Project in the timeframe noted above. Qualifications: Provide the information requested. Budget and Fees: List budgets for the work as outlined above. Identify staff you anticipate working on the Project and their hourly rates for work that may be needed for all phases of the Project. Hosting: We prefer to host this site with the same service provider, Start Communications, that we use for our other websites. If you do not wish to use the hosting environment currently supplied by Start Communications, please suggest a vendor/partner to provide this service and also the answers to these questions. • How often do you backup? • How often do you have down time? • How often do you upgrade software/hardware? • Please describe your technical support. • Please describe your security. • Do you have a high-speed, direct connection to the Internet? • Please describe your methodology and service level agreements. • Pricing, terms and conditions.


Submission Your proposal must be received no later than September 1, 2015. Your proposal must include a cost proposal for the work as described in this document, in the format described above. All costs associated with the delivery of the Project should be presented in a flat rate, fee for service format. By email Proposals can be emailed in PDF format to: Mila Ovchinnikova [email protected] Subject line: Community Engagement Learning Platform By mail Ontario Presents Attention: Mila Ovchinnikova 125-215 Spadina Avenue Toronto ON M5T 2C7 We thank all those applicants who have applied; however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.


Terms and Conditions • Each proposal shall be irrevocable by the proponent and will remain in effect and open

for acceptance for a period of two (2) months from the Closing Date. • A proponent may withdraw or substitute all or part of its proposal at any time up to the

Closing Date. The last submission received by OP shall supersede and invalidate all submissions previously submitted by that proponent for the RFP.

• OP does not bind itself to accept any proposal and may proceed as, in its sole discretion, it determines following receipt of the proposals. OP reserves the right to accept any proposal in whole or in part or to discuss with any proponent different or additional terms to those envisaged in this RFP or in such proponent’s proposal.

• All costs and expenses incurred by a proponent relating to the preparation or presentation of its proposal shall be borne by the proponent. OP is not liable to pay such costs and expenses or to reimburse or to compensate a proponent under any circumstances.

• OP shall not be responsible for any delays or costs associated with any reviews or the approval process, or with obtaining any regulatory approvals.

• Any written information received by OP from a proponent pursuant to a request from OP as part of the RFP process shall be considered as an integral part of the proposal.

• If it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP, or if the proponents require additional data to interpret any of its provisions, the revisions or additional data will be provided to all proponents. If revisions or additional data are necessary after the Closing Date for proposals, revisions or additional data will be provided only to those proponents who have submitted responses and met the mandatory requirements and submission requirements. Such proponents will then have the opportunity to modify their proposal on such items as OP may specify.

• OP has the right to: a) reject any or all of the proposals; b) accept any proposal in whole or in part; c) if only one proposal is received, elect to accept or reject it; d) elect not to proceed with the Project at all as OP so determines in its sole and

absolute discretion; e) to alter the schedule, proposal call process or procedures or objective of the

Project or any other aspect of the RFP, as OP may determine in its sole and absolute discretion; or

f) to cancel, then advertise or call for new proposals for the Project,

• OP shall not be liable for any expense, cost, loss or damage incurred or suffered by any proponent, or any person connected with any proponent, as a result of any such action, amendment, modification or withdrawal. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the rejection of any or all proposals shall not render OP liable for any costs or damages.

• OP reserves the right to request the clarification of the contents of any proposal. OP may choose to meet with some or all of the proponents to discuss aspects of their respective proposals. OP may require proponents to submit supplementary documentation clarifying any matters contained in their proposals and seek the respective proponent’s acknowledgement of that interpretation. OP is not obliged to seek clarification of any aspect of a proposal.


• It is the nature of this RFP process that this RFP and/or the submission or the proposal in response to the RFP will not constitute a binding agreement, but will only form the basis for the negotiation of the terms upon which CCI and the preferred proponent will enter into an Agreement, and does not mean that the proposal is necessarily totally acceptable in the form submitted. After the selection of the proposal, if any, OP has the right to negotiate the terms for an Agreement with the preferred proponent, and, as part of that process, to negotiate changes, amendments or modifications to the preferred proponent’s proposal without offering the other proponents a similar opportunity to amend their proposals.

• OP reserves the right to use and publish ideas, information and concepts contained in the proposals, except to the extent that they are covered by copyright, patent, or industrial design protection.

• OP reserves the right to verify any information from third parties and receive additional information regarding the proponent, its directors, officers, shareholders/owners and any other person associated with the proponent as OP may require.

• The information provided in this RFP, or issued by way of Addendum, is for reference purposes only, and OP and its advisors do not make any representation, warranty or guarantee as to their accuracy. Proponents are required to make their own enquiries and investigations and not to rely on any of the information contained in the RFP or to be issued by way of Addendum.

• Proponents are required to maintain the confidentiality of their proposal during the bidding, evaluating and selection periods, up to and including the date of selection of the preferred proponent. Proponents shall take such measures that are necessary to ensure that no information contained in or pertaining to their proposal is released, subject to what may be ordered or required by law, or is expressly permitted by this RFP.

• Any attempt on the part of any proponent or any of its employees, agents, contractors or representatives to contact any other proponent or any employee, agent or representative thereof, with respect to this RFP or the preparation or presentation of their respective proposals, will be grounds for disqualification.

• Each proponent’s submission shall be submitted without any connection, knowledge, comparison of the figures or arrangement with any other proponent or any employee, agent or representative thereof and each proponent will be responsible to ensure that its participation in this process is conducted fairly and without collusion and fraud. In such event, and without any liability, OP may, in its sole and absolute discretion, in addition to any other remedies available at law, revoke the proponent’s status as a proponent and reject any submission submitted by the proponent.

• All of the provisions of this RFP are deemed to be accepted by each proponent and are incorporated into each proponent’s proposal by this reference.

• All material, data, information, or any item in any form (including any intellectual property rights derived thereunder) supplied by or obtained from OP or derived from any data which the proponent may have acquired in connection with this RFP and the selection and negotiation process under this RFP (collectively, “Project Information”), both before and after the issuance of the RFP,

a) is the sole property of OP and must be treated as confidential; b) is not to be used for any other purpose other than replying to this RFP and the

fulfillment of any subsequent Agreement;


c) must not be disclosed without prior written authorization from OP; and shall be returned by all the proponents to OP Contacts within ten (10) calendar days of the announcement of the award of the Agreement, provided that if the proponent is awarded the Agreement, the Project Information shall be returned at the termination or expiry of the Agreement.

• Requests to present data or other information or to publish or present papers derived from work under this RFP in professional journals or in any other type of publication or at professional conferences must be made to OP and prior written approval must therefore be obtained in writing from OP.

• It is anticipated that the preferred proponent will be selected by July31, 2015. The acceptance of a proposal or any part thereof will only be made in writing. At that time, the preferred proponent and OP shall enter into negotiations for the Agreement for the Project. If the selected proponent fails or refuses to enter into and execute the Agreement within that period (or longer, as notified by OP), OP reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion:

a) to terminate all negotiations with such proponent; b) to select another proponent for the Project; or c) to advertise or call for new proposals for the Project, as OP deems advisable.

• OP shall not be legally obligated to the preferred proponent unless and until OP has executed the Agreement with the successful proponent for the Project.


Appendix

Potential Website Template

CELP Request For Proposal - Ontario Presents · Request’For’Proposal’3’! Overview Founded...

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