Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Issue date:
MAY 30, 2011
Closing location:
MAIL ONLY: COURIER/BY HAND:
Purchasing Services Branch Purchasing Services Branch
P.O. Box 9476, Stn. Prov. Gov’t. c/o 2nd Floor 563 Superior Street
Victoria, B.C. V8W 9W6 Victoria, B.C. V8V 1T7
Attention: Cheryl Akey Attention: Cheryl Akey
Contact person:
Cheryl Akey, Procurement Specialist
Fax: (250) 387-7309
purchasing@gov.bc.ca
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1.0 SUMMARY OF THE REQUIREMENT
The purpose of this Request for Standing Offer (RSO) is to select organizations to supply
website solutions and web design services to GCPE on an as needed basis.
These services may include, but are not limited to development of websites or other web-
based applications from conception to implementation and to support all of the services,
functionality and components associated with the sites, and providing leading edge website
solutions, which includes complete website services, new media solutions, and web operations
and hosting services.
The term of the Standing Offer will be for two (2) years with an option to renew for two (2)
additional one year terms at the sole discretion of GCPE. The agreement may be subject to an
annual performance review.
Successful Respondents will supply the Services on an as, if and when requested basis. GCPE
anticipates issuing multiple Standing Offers for these Services.
Offerors with a valid Standing Offer (as defined in this RSO) will be selected for each
Contract using the following process:
• Specifics regarding the project or assignment will be sent to one or more Offeror(s), at
the discretion of GCPE. The criteria for selecting an Offeror(s) will vary, depending
upon the requirements of the applicable project or task and could involve requiring an
Offeror to have a certain demonstrated experience and proficiency level in one or more
service areas depending on the specific requirements of the project or assignment;
• The Offeror(s) will provide a completed work order outlining the work effort and
costing of the project (costing to be based on the rates included in the Standing Offer);
• A drawdown will be issued to the Offeror proposing the best solution (i.e. lowest price,
availability, etc.), subject to satisfactory performance during the term of the Standing
Offer. Note that GCPE may not necessarily select the Offeror offering the lowest
price, and may also review the qualifications or other criteria required for a specific
project.
The establishment of Standing Offers is intended on simplifying the contracting process for
both GCPE and vendors, and enable GCPE to access services in a timely manner.
REQUEST FOR STANDING OFFER TERMINOLOGY
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q) “Web 2.0” means the website solutions and website design services described in this
RSO;
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2.4 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Subsequent information regarding this Request for Standing Offers will only be posted
on the BC Bid Website (www.bcbid.ca).
2.5 ENQUIRIES
All enquiries related to this Request for Standing Offer are to be directed, in writing, to
the following person. Information obtained from any other source is not official and
should not be relied upon.
OR
Responses will not be accepted by facsimile or email. All responses should be clearly
marked with the name and address of the Respondent, the RSO number, and the
project or program title.
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2.7 LATE RESPONSES
Late responses will not be accepted and may be returned to the Respondent.
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c) FOB destination, delivery charges included where applicable; and
d) exclusive of applicable taxes.
4.3 SUB-CONTRACTING
Sub-contracting for specialized services is permissible with the prior approval of
GCPE; however, sub-contractors cannot be wholly owned or partially owned by the
contractor. In cases where the Contractor has subsidiaries, partially or wholly owned,
services provided by these subsidiaries will bill according to contracted rates.
6.1 OVERVIEW
Government Communications and Public Engagement (GCPE) ensures that
information about government programs and services is accessible to British
Columbians. GCPE also has the responsibility for leading and co-ordinating
communications with internal and external stakeholders.
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• co-ordinating cross-government initiatives;
• communications research;
• strategic communications planning and advice;
• issues management;
• media relations and media monitoring;
• event planning and event management;
• writing and editorial services;
• graphic design;
• advertising and marketing;
• online communications services and management of web content;
• distributing news releases and backgrounders; and
• technical support to the Press Theatre in the Legislature.
6.3 REQUIREMENTS
The following requirements for this Standing Offer relating to the Services to be
provided are described in detail throughout this section.
Offerors will work with GCPE on an as, if and when requested basis on specific
projects.
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online ads;
social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook pages, etc.);
Mashups (e.g. Google Maps & Facebook for apps);
iPad, smart phone and mobile applications;
web applications; and
websites, web pages and/or specific areas of web pages;
• website development:
graphic design;
writing services;
branding;
online and interactive marketing, promotion, and optimization;
incorporate provided photography, film, video production, and/or other
emerging media content into the web design;
create photography, film, video production, and/or other emerging
media;
develop multilingual web pages and/or sites;
create mobile versions of existing government websites;
• social media:
develop skins, applications and specialized pages, etc. for major social
media channels (e.g. customized landing pages in Facebook);
relationship management in social media (e.g. creating and responding to
tweets, direct messages and posts in Twitter, Facebook, YouTube,
Flickr);
• search engine optimization and marketing (e.g. ensuring GCPE campaigns
receive traffic through organic searches and Google AdWords or other Search
Engine Marketing (SEM) programs);
• usability testing;
• website security;
• website maintenance and enhancements, including changes to information
architecture of existing websites;
• web analytics;
• providing training on new software/mobile platforms;
• keeping current with changes in the online marketplace and identifying and
recommending new opportunities for online marketing and social media
communications;
• server maintenance and upgrades if hosting application(s); and/or
• providing professional level documentation for all written code, and user
guide/help files for any content management systems or business processes.
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6.3.2 WEB TECHNOLOGIES
The Contractor will design, develop, and/or host some or all of the following, and may be
expanded as new technologies become available:
• blogs;
• XML feeds;
• podcasts;
• streaming audio and videos – for desktop and portable devices, etc.;
• web templates;
• messaging – text, government internal, IM, etc.;
• media content;
• creating and integrating iPad and iPhone applications;
• API’s;
• Smartphone apps and device rendering;
• SQL Server Reporting;
• Wiki; and
• any other evolving media or web technology.
The Contractor will be required to provide a robust, stable and secure hosting
environment for any government sites hosted. The Contractor will be required to host
all data, including backup, in Canada. This secure hosting environment should contain
features that reduce the risk to website security and stability.
Preference is for Offerors to have servers available that will be dedicated to the
Province.
Any Contract for hosting services will be expected to include representations and
warranties from the Contractor that the site and services will meet required
performance levels and that there is compatibility with the Province's web browsers
and other interfacing software.
GCPE may require that any sites developed by a Contractor be portable into or hosted
in the Province’s environment or in the environment of another service provider (i.e.
seamless migration of the application into the Province’s infrastructure).
Contractors will be required to adhere to the Province’s IM/IT Standards, which can be
found at: http://www.cio.gov.bc.ca/cio/standards/standards_manual.page
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The Contractor should have a detailed disaster recovery plan in place to ensure
business continuity. This plan should include data backup and recovery procedures in
the event of system crashes. The plan should also contain processes, procedures and
response times for recovery of data and software (i.e. be up and running within 8 to 16
hours after a disaster). This plan should ensure the availability of redundancy features
and failover safeguards for network and servers. GCPE prefers that the Contractor have
database and application servers mirrored or clustered off site.
The Offeror will be required to work with a variety of Content Management Systems
(e.g. Wordpress, Moveable Type, Interwoven); and therefore, should not be dependent
on any single proprietary software.
Documentation will be provided for any CMS that has been customized to the
requirements of the Province.
Offers will have proven experience with social media dashboard utilities such as
Radian6, Hootsuite, or similar; and experience with CoverItLive and Livestream;
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Offerers will be fluent with technologies such as CSS, HTML5, FBML, Java,
Javascript, PHP, Drupal, Sharepoint 2010, and will adhere to W3C standards.
Contractors will be expected to:
• work in a very fast paced environment with extremely tight deadlines, short
notice and/or rigorous work schedules;
• work under conditions of high-confidentiality for critical government services;
• guarantee sufficient number of staff to sustain social media pages and provide
back-end support to Province staff as needed;
• be responsible for providing their resources(s) with the tools necessary to
complete the requested Services;
• ensure that the Contractor’s resources are prepared to work at their own off-site
work location and are able to be contacted by telephone, and e-mail by GCPE;
and
• be responsive to GCPE’s needs and be able to respond in a timely manner (i.e.
ability to liaise with GCPE either in-person, or via other means as necessary).
The Contractor will be required to provide qualified resources (i.e. senior and
intermediate) capable of researching, analyzing designing, developing and
implementing Web 2.0 services.
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In addition to the above experience, resources are required to have the following skills:
a) Service Orientation: resource understands the service needs of a
client/customer (internal or external) and actively focuses on anticipating,
meeting and exceeding the needs in a timely and appropriate manner;
b) Results Focus: resource takes action to achieve challenging goals or high
standards. That is, the resource is focused on the desired outcomes, setting
challenging goals, and taking action to meet or exceed them; and
c) Teamwork and Co-operation: resource works co-operatively with diverse
teams, work groups and across the organization to achieve group and
organizational goals. This includes communicating effectively and
collaboratively with others.
Mandatory Criteria
(a) The Response must be received at the closing location by the specified
closing date and time on the title page of this Request for Standing Offer.
(b) The Response must be in English and must not be sent by facsimile or e-mail.
(c) Three (3) complete copies plus one (1) electronic copy on CD/DVD (MS Word
format) of each Response must be submitted
OR One complete electronic response must be received in accordance with
BC Bid instructions for e-bidding.
(d) The Response must include a cover letter substantially similar to the cover letter
set out in Appendix A and the cover letter must be signed by a person
authorized to sign on behalf of the Respondent.
(e) The Response must include a completed form, in substantially the same form
as Appendix B in order to be considered.
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7.2 DESIRABLE CRITERIA
Responses meeting the mandatory requirements will be further assessed against the
following desirable criteria. A Respondent not achieving the minimum score in a
given category (if applicable) will receive no further consideration during the
qualifications review.
Desirable Criteria Points Minimum
Available score (if
applicable)
Experience and Qualifications (Appendix B) 48
• Corporate Overview 20
• Website Solutions and Web Design Services 40
Experience
• Portfolio 20
Pricing 20
Stage 2
The Experience and Qualifications of the Respondent will be assessed on the
information provided in Appendix B. Responses that do not meet the minimum scoring
will receive no further consideration.
Stage 3
Pricing will be assessed on a comparative basis between responses and a score
assigned according to the following formula:
$ Lowest Qualified Respondent’s Price
_____________________________ X Maximum Points Available = Points Awarded
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Reference checks may be done by the Province during the qualifications review to
confirm any submitted Appendix B information about the Respondent. The Ministry
reserves the right to contact any clients of the referenced projects or work provided
throughout the Response to verify statements made, in additional to the corporate
references provided by the Respondent. If any of the references are unsatisfactory to
the Province, the Respondent may be excluded from further consideration.
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2. For each of these reference sites, Respondents are to also provide a contact that
is in a position to confirm details of the project and the Respondent’s
involvement. Reference details should include sufficient information for the
Province to contact the reference including:
a) reference person’s name, and position title,
b) organization name,
c) office address,
d) telephone number, facsimile number, and e-mail address.
3. In addition, Respondents are to provide in their Response:
a) a description of how the Respondent helps clients monitor, participate, and
encourage end user participation in brand discussions in social media;
b) a description of what skills the Respondent has dedicated to identifying and
executing programs in emerging media; and whether any of the above
referenced sites required the understanding of, use of, and experience with
social media and emerging channels. If the reference sites did not require
these requirements, provide a contact for a project whereby the Respondent
provided these services.
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APPENDIX A: RESPONSE COVERING LETTER
Date:
[NAME OF MINISTRY]
[ADDRESS]
Attention: [Name]
We have carefully read and examined the Request for Standing Offer and have conducted
such other investigations as were prudent and reasonable in preparing the Response. We
are authorized to submit this Response on behalf of the Respondent.
Yours truly,
_________________________________________
Signature
Name:
Title:
Telephone Number:
e-mail address:
Date:
APPENDIX B: RESPONDENT SUMMARY
The Response must include a completed form, in substantially the same form as Appendix B.
Strategic Planning
Describe your approach to the preliminary planning of a website’s development (maximum ½ page). In addition,
provide a sample of a website “discovery session” plan or brainstorming blueprint, and an example of an agenda from
a recent strategic planning session.
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Quality and Contingency Planning
Describe your quality and contingency planning, including quality management programs/systems in place to ensure
successful project outcomes, and your ability to provide additional backup and support.
Experience working under severe time constraints, and meeting time and budget demands.
Describe your ability to complete projects of this nature under severe time constraints, on time and on budget.
References
Provide the name, corporate affiliation, title and telephone number of three clients who can attest to the Respondent’s
corporate professionalism and ability to provide the Services. State the number of years that services have been
provided to each client. GCPE may contact these references without notifying the Respondent. GCPE reserves the
right to not award a Standing Offer to any Respondent who has references that are deemed to be unsatisfactory, in
GCPE’s sole opinion.
First Client Name of Client:
Reference
Title or Position
Firm Name
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WEB SERVICES EXPERIENCE
Social Media
Describe your experience developing skins, applications and specialized pages, etc. for major social media channels
(e.g. customized landing pages in Facebook).
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Media Content
Describe your experience and ability to incorporate provided photography, film, video production and/or other
emerging media content into web design. Also, include a description of your experience and ability to create your own
photography, film, video production and/or other emerging media to be used as website content.
Strategic Planning
Describe your experience developing online communication strategies for a wide range of web products.
Training
Describe your process for providing training to your clients on new software/mobile platforms.
Client Relations
Describe how you meet the following characteristics:
• leaders in new and advanced web technology solutions;
• creative (i.e. willing or open to explore ideas and develop solutions without preconceptions or prejudice);
• client focused (i.e. recognizes the uniqueness of each client and ensures proposed solutions are applicable to
the client);
• punctual (i.e. meets time commitments); and
• accurate (i.e. ensures output meets client expectations).
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WEB HOSTING
Hosting Environment
Describe the data centre technical environment, including:
a. the servers that would be available to host sites;
i. type of server (database, web server, etc.);
ii. operating system and version;
iii. support software and version (e.g. database, reporting software);
iv. if it will be shared with other clients or dedicated to the Province;
v. if websites/applications will be in unique application pools and database in unique instances; and
vi. software update frequency;
b. description of additional software required to operate the websites;
c. the firewalls or other security appliances;
Service Levels
Describe your ability to minimize hosting services downtimes, including a description of your application availability,
technical support, and escalations processes in place.