Website design and development services

for the SADC TFCA FIinancing Facility

IUCN South Africa, SADC TFCA Financing Facility

RfP Reference: IUCN-2024-02-P02979-03

Welcome to this Procurement by IUCN. You are hereby invited to submit a Proposal. Please read the information and instructions carefully because non-compliance with the instructions may result in disqualification of your Proposal from this Procurement.

1. REQUIREMENTS
   1. A detailed description of the services and/or goods to be provided can be found in Attachment 1.
2. CONTACT DETAILS
   1. During the course of this procurement, i.e. from the publication of this RfP to the award of a contract, you may not discuss this procurement with any IUCN employee or representative other than the following contact. You must address all correspondence and questions to the contact, including your proposal.

IUCN Contact: tenders.sa@iucn.org

1. PROCUREMENT TIMETABLE
   1. This timetable is indicative and may be changed by IUCN at any time. If IUCN decides that changes to any of the deadlines are necessary, we will contact you.

DATE

ACTIVITY

07 June 2024

Publication of the Request for Proposals

24 June 2024

Deadline for submission of proposals to IUCN (“Submission Deadline”)

27 June 2024

Interviews

28 June 2024

Planned date for contract award

1 July 2024

Expected contract start date

1. Please email the IUCN contact to confirm whether or not you are intending to submit a proposal by the deadline stated above.
2. COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL
   1. Your Proposal must consist of the following three documents:

• Signed Declaration of Undertaking (see Attachment 2)
• Technical Proposal (see Section 4.4 below)
• Financial Proposal (see Section 4.5 below)
  1. Your Proposal must be submitted by email to the IUCN Contact (see Section 2). The subject heading of the email shall be [RfP Reference – bidder name]. The bidder name is the name of the company/organisation on whose behalf you are submitting the proposal, or your own surname if you are bidding as a self-employed consultant. Your proposal must be submitted in PDF format. You may submit multiple emails suitably annotated, e.g. Email 1 of 3, if attached files are too large to suit a single email transmission. You may not submit your Proposal by uploading it to a file-sharing tool.

Proposals must be prepared in English.

IMPORTANT: Submitted documents must be password-protected so that they cannot be opened and read before the submission deadline. Please use the same password for all submitted documents. After the deadline has passed and within 12 hours, please send the password to the IUCN Contact. This will ensure a secure bid submission and opening process. Please DO NOT email the password before the deadline for Proposal submission.

1. Eligibility
2. Technical Proposal

The technical proposal must address each of the criteria stated below explicitly and separately, quoting the relevant criteria reference number (left-hand column).

Proposals in any other format will significantly increase the time it takes to evaluate, and such Proposals may therefore be rejected at IUCN’s discretion.

Where CVs are requested, these must be of the individuals who will actually carry out the work specified. The individuals you put forward may only be substituted with IUCN’s approval.

IUCN will evaluate technical proposals with regards to each of the following criteria and their relative importance:

Description

Information to provide

Relative weight

1

Methodological approach

Description of the methodological and delivery approach.

Description of the methodological and delivery approach

Present proposed approach and methodology for the development of website

20

2

Expertise and experience among the team and Service Provider Competencies

Key professional staff qualifications and competence needed – graphic design, Information Technology, Programming.

Be a reputable company with at least 5 years of prior experience designing visually appealing and navigation-friendly web sites.

Experience in using Drupal 9.

Familiarity and relevant experience in using different Content Management Systems.

Compliant to the international accessibility standards (accessible via screen readers, colourblind friendly colour schemes, etc.).

Optimal performance in low-bandwidth locations.

Consider any external tools needed – should be open source yet secure and reliable.

Website to be developed using standard open source web development to allow IUCN to make future changes independently.

Company profile and CVs of project team; Sample or portfolio of previous work

30

3

Design specifications for website

User-friendly administrator interface for all features.

User-friendly front-end design and development to optimize public use.

Design should be in line with IUCN and SADC, relevant donors’ design and branding guidelines (to be provided).

In addition, the web design and development shall be developed and delivered in line with IUCN’s internal policies and frameworks.

Website security

Language of the website: English

Technical proposal, with details on approach for assignment, details on system to be used, and security of site and data

30

4

Maintenance plan

Plan for follow up after launch of website for troubleshooting

20

TOTAL

100%

1. Financial Proposal
   1. The financial proposal must be a fixed and firm price for the provision of the goods/services stated in the RfP in their entirety.
   2. Prices include all costs

Submitted rates and prices are deemed to include all costs, insurances, taxes (except VAT, see below), fees, expenses, liabilities, obligations, risk and other things necessary for the performance of the Terms of Reference or Specification of Requirements. IUCN will not accept charges beyond those clearly stated in the Financial Proposal. This includes applicable withholding taxes and similar. It is your responsibility to determine whether such taxes apply to your organisation and to include them in your financial offer.

1. Applicable Goods and Services Taxes

Proposal rates and prices shall be exclusive of Value Added Tax.

1. Currency of proposed rates and prices

All rates and prices submitted by Proposers shall be in [currency].

1. Breakdown of rates and prices

For information only, the price needs to be broken down as follows:

Description

Quantity

Unit Price

Total Price

1

Organize an online/physical inception meeting with IUCN Secretariat

2

Designs for the website features

3

Back-end development and configuration of relevant modules

4

Complete the design and development of the website features and coordinate deployment with the TFCA FF team

5

Hand over all design files and coding to IUCN ESARO

6

TOTAL

1. Additional information not requested by IUCN should not be included in your Proposal and will not be taken into account in the evaluation.
2. Your proposal must remain valid and capable of acceptance by IUCN for a period of 90 calendar days following the submission deadline.
3. Withdrawals and Changes

You may freely withdraw or change your proposal at any time prior to the submission deadline by written notice to the IUCN Contact. However, in order to reduce the risk of fraud, no changes or withdrawals will be accepted after the submission deadline.

1. EVALUATION of PROPOSALS
   1. Completeness

IUCN will firstly check your proposal for completeness. Incomplete proposals will not be considered further.

1. Technical Evaluation
   1. Scoring Method

Your proposal will be assigned a score from 0 to 10 for each of the technical evaluation criteria, such that ‘0’ is low and ‘10’ is high.

1. Minimum Quality Thresholds

Proposals that receive a score of ‘0’ for any of the criteria will not be considered further.

1. Technical Score

Your score for each technical evaluation criterion will be multiplied with the respective relative weight (see Section 4.4) and these weighted scores added together to give your proposal’s overall technical score.

1. Financial Evaluation and Financial Scores

The financial evaluation will be based upon the full total price you submit. Your financial proposal will receive a score calculated by dividing the lowest financial proposal that has passed the minimum quality thresholds (see Section 5.2.2) by the total price of your financial proposal.

Thus, for example, if your financial proposal is for a total of CHF 100 and the lowest financial proposal is CHF 80, you will receive a financial score of 80/100 = 80%

1. Total Score

Your proposal’s total score will be calculated as the weighted sum of your technical score and your financial score.

The relative weights will be:

Technical: 70%

Financial: 30%

Thus, for example, if your technical score is 83% and your financial score is 77%, you will receive a total score of 83 * 70% + 77 * 30% = 58.1% + 23.1% = 81.2%.

Subject to the requirements in Sections 4 and 7, IUCN will award the contract to the bidder whose proposal achieves the highest total score.

1. Explanation of procurement procedure
   1. IUCN is using the Invitation Procedure for this procurement. This means that only invited bidders may submit a proposal. IUCN typically invites from four to six bidders to submit a proposal.
   2. You are welcome to ask questions or seek clarification regarding this procurement. Please email the IUCN Contact (see Section 2), taking note of the deadline for submission of questions in Section 3.1.
   3. All proposals must be received by the submission deadline in Section 3.1 above. Late proposals will not be considered. All proposals received by the submission deadline will be evaluated by a team of two or more evaluators in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in in this RfP. No other criteria will be used to evaluate proposals. The contract will be awarded to the bidder whose proposal received the highest Total Score. IUCN does, however, reserve the right to cancel the procurement and not award a contract at all.
   4. IUCN will contact the bidder with the highest-scoring proposal to finalise the contract. We will contact unsuccessful bidders after the contract has been awarded and provide detailed feedback. The timetable in Section 3.1 gives an estimate of when we expect to have completed the contract award, but this date may change depending on how long the evaluation of proposals takes.
2. Conditions for participation in this procurement
   1. To participate in this procurement, you are required to submit a proposal, which fully complies with the instructions in this RfP and the Attachments.
      1. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have submitted a complete and fully compliant proposal.
      2. Any incomplete or incorrectly completed proposal submission may be deemed non-compliant, and as a result you may be unable to proceed further in the procurement process.
      3. IUCN will query any obvious clerical errors in your proposal and may, at IUCN’s sole discretion, allow you to correct these, but only if doing so could not be perceived as giving you an unfair advantage.
   2. In order to participate in this procurement, you must meet the following conditions:

• Free of conflicts of interest
• Registered on the relevant professional or trade register of the country in which you are established (or resident, if self-employed)
• In full compliance with your obligations relating to payment of social security contributions and of all applicable taxes
• Not been convicted of failing to comply with environmental regulatory requirements or other legal requirements relating to sustainability and environmental protection
• Not bankrupt or being wound up
• Never been guilty of an offence concerning your professional conduct
• Not involved in fraud, corruption, a criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorism, or any other illegal activity.
  1. You must complete and sign the Declaration of Undertaking (see Attachment 2)
  2. If you are participating in this procurement as a member of a joint venture, or are using sub-contractors, submit a separate Declaration of Undertaking for each member of the joint venture and sub-contractor, and be clear in your proposal which parts of the goods/services are provided by each partner or sub-contractor.
  3. Each bidder shall submit only one proposal, either individually or as a partner in a joint venture. In case of joint venture, one company shall not be allowed to participate in two different joint ventures in the same procurement nor shall a company be allowed to submit a proposal both on its behalf and as part of a joint venture for the same procurement. A bidder who submits or participates in more than one proposal (other than as a subcontractor or in cases of alternatives that have been permitted or requested) shall cause all the proposals with the bidder’s participation to be disqualified.
  4. By taking part in this procurement, you accept the conditions set out in this RfP, including the following:
• It is unacceptable to give or offer any gift or consideration to an employee or other representative of IUCN as a reward or inducement in relation to the awarding of a contract. Such action will give IUCN the right to exclude you from this and any future procurements, and to terminate any contract that may have been signed with you.
• Any attempt to obtain information from an employee or other representative of IUCN concerning another bidder will result in disqualification.
• Any price fixing or collusion with other bidders in relation to this procurement shall give IUCN the right to exclude you and any other involved bidder(s) from this and any future procurements and may constitute a criminal offence.

1. Confidentiality and data protection
   1. IUCN follows the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The information you submit to IUCN as part of this procurement will be treated as confidential and shared only as required to evaluate your proposal in line with the procedure explained in this RfP, and for the maintenance of a clear audit trail. For audit purposes, IUCN is required to retain your proposal in its entirety for 10 years after the end of the resulting contract and make this available to internal and external auditors and donors as and when requested.
   2. In the Declaration of Undertaking (Attachment 2) you need to give IUCN express permission to use the information you submit in this way, including personal data that forms part of your proposal. Where you include personal data of your employees (e.g. CVs) in your proposal, you need to have written permission from those individuals to share this information with IUCN, and for IUCN to use this information as indicated in 8.1. Without these permissions, IUCN will not be able to consider your proposal.
2. Complaints procedure

If you have a complaint or concern regarding the propriety of how a competitive process is or has been executed, then please contact procurement@iucn.org. Such complaints or concerns will be treated as confidential and are not considered in breach of the above restrictions on communication (Section 2.1).

1. Contract

The contract will be based on IUCN’s template in Attachment 3, the terms of which are not negotiable. They may, however, be amended by IUCN to reflect particular requirements from the donor funding this particular procurement.

1. About IUCN

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

Headquartered in Switzerland, IUCN Secretariat comprises around 1,000 staff with offices in more than 50 countries.

Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,300 Member organisations and some 10,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.

IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

www.iucn.org

https://twitter.com/IUCN/

1. ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 Specification of Requirements / Terms of Reference

Title: Website design and development services for the SADC TFCA Financing Facility

Objective of the Consultancy

This consultancy has the following objective:

1. Design and develop website for the SADC TFCA Financing Facility

Background

Project Reference: P02979

Donor reference: 2016-68-409

About IUCN

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.

IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

www.iucn.org

https://twitter.com/IUCN/

About the Project

The SADC TFCA (Transfrontier Conservation) Financing Facility was established in April 2020. It is a grant-making facility designed to support development of TFCAs in the SADC region. The overall objective of the Facility is to provide the basis for long-term and more sustainable investment in tangible measures that strengthen ecological, economic, cultural and institutional connectivity within SADC TFCAs. The Facility is currently funded mainly by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through KfW Development Bank.

IUCN East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) is the Project Executing Agency responsible for administering TFCA Financing facility grants to SADC TFCAs

Description of the Assignment

1. Following the SADC TFCA Financing Facility branding guidelines, develop a new website for the Facility with the following sections:

– Programme Overview and Objectives;

– SADC TFCA FF funded projects portfolios;

– Gallery (images and videos);

– Content Repository: ensure accessibility of key content and highlight new content and events, annual reports, application guidelines, operational manuals, linkages to the Grants Management System, facilitate content management and analysis of content, reflect and highlight new content and ensure dynamism of the pages, including by featuring recently approved content, among others;

– News – to share information on open calls, project milestones, events, etc;

– Roster of Experts Database: Develop a functionality for a Roaster of Experts database that can be accessed from the website; allows experts to register with the Facility in accordance with the set criteria; filters experts by thematic area;

– Links to social media and other networks;

– Contact information.

2. Secure the domain and set up SSL – Acquire the domain name as soon as possible (Provide IUCN team with possible domain names ASAP). SSL certificates should also be generated in favour of security and search engines.

3. Hosting and storage – During development, advice on suitable web hosting and storage options as soon as possible & provide cost implications. This is critical as the web hosting plan will need to be big enough to handle the IUCN scripts and the technology employed.

4. Optimize for SEO – Website should be optimized for search engines.

5. Generate an XML sitemaps – critical task for your SEO strategy.

6. Develop a user manual and deliver a webinar for project staff and system administrators to perform content upload, system maintenance and administration.

7. Test website before going live.

8. Support and maintenance: This would include administrative and technical support, quality control maintenance, security, bug fixing, additional design and development as required, based on monthly priorities, i.e., 15 hours/month for a period of up to two years after launch of the website.

9. Full source code including all developed libraries shall be handed over to IUCN.

10. File handling strategy – Certain files will need to be publicly visible while others will need to be hidden or readable only by administrators.

11. Optimize security settings – developer needs to outline the website security strategy to mitigate vulnerability to hackers and other malicious users.

Duration of the Assignment

From 1 July 2024 to 30 October 2024

Deliverables and Activities

The consultant will provide the following deliverables and carry out the following activities:

Deliverable/Activity

Description

Deadline

1. Methodology and updated work plan

Action plan delivered

12 July 2024

1.a Organize an online/physical inception meeting with IUCN Secretariat to (i) present proposed approach and methodology for the development of website as detailed above, (ii) collect feedback and inputs on enhancements and feature development and requirements

Consultant to ensure alignment with IUCN requirements for the website

8 July 2024

2**. Draft web designs for review, integration of feedback and final approval**

Submission of first version of the website

9 August 2024

2.a Develop in coordination with the IUCN ESARO team, designs for the website features listed above, ensuring an attractive, user-friendly interface in line with IUCN and SADC TFCA FF design guidelines

Day-to-day activities in developing website

9 July – 8 August 2024

2.b Ensure the backend development and configuration of relevant modules, as required; test each feature with a group of IUCN ESARO participants

Website development and testing

9 July – 8 August 2024

2.c Upon sign-off of the draft designs and wireframes, complete the design and development of the website features and coordinate deployment with IUCN’s TFCA FF Project Management Unit, ICT and Communications team;

design and development of the website features

9 July – 8 August 2024

3**. launch of SADC TFCA FF Website**

Launch of the official website

30 September 2024

3.a Design, development, and delivery of a fully tested and functional website including the functionalities specified above, deployed online in coordination with IUCN ESARO team

Day-to-day activities in developing the final version of the website

9 August – 29 September 2024

3.b Full technical documentation (system code and system design) to enable smooth deployment, handover and ongoing maintenance and updates by IUCN

Technical report document

11 October 2024

3.c Monthly maintenance, web design and development support.

Follow up after launch of website for troubleshooting

September – 30 October 2024

Hand over all design files and coding to IUCN ESARO

Files according to format required b IUCN

30 October 2024

Payment Schedule

The Timetable below summarises the chronological order of deliverables and indicates milestones at which IUCN will pay the Consultant.

Deliverable

Milestone payment

09 August 2024

50%

30 October 2024

50%

Skills and Experience

The service provider consultant must have the following skills, education and experience as a minimum:

• Key professional staff qualifications and competence needed – graphic design, Information Technology, Programming.
• Be a reputable company with at least 5 years of prior experience designing visually appealing and navigation-friendly web sites
• Experience in using Drupal 9
• Familiarity and relevant experience in using different Content Management Systems
• Compliant to the international accessibility standards (accessible via screen readers, colourblind friendly colour schemes, etc.);
• Optimal performance in low-bandwidth locations
• Consider any external tools needed – should be open source yet secure and reliable;
• Website to be developed using standard open source web development to allow IUCN to make future changes independently;
• Language of the website: English

Supervision and coordination

The consultant will report to and work under the supervision of the Senior Programme Officer-SADC TFCA Financing Facility .

How to apply

https://www.iucn.org/procurement/currently-running-tenders