STRENGTHENING PROTECTED AREA FINANCING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 1 EGYPT: STRENGTHENING PROTECTED AREA
FINANCING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
(Project ID 00071131: 3668)
Terms of Reference for Web Developing Firm
To develop a comprehensive website for the Protected Area
Network in Egypt
Strengthening Protected Area Financing and Management Systems Project (FS) aims at the establishment of a sustainable protected area financing system, with associated management structures, systems and capacities needed to ensure the effective use of generated revenues for priority biodiversity conservation needs, as well as removing or significantly reducing a wide range of barriers to sustainable financing. The project will provide the Nature Conservation Sector (NCS) with a powerful set of arguments for continuing long-term investment, financing and expansion of Egypt’s PA system, mainly with self-generated revenues through successful realization of the following outcomes: Legal, policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks that facilitate revenue generation, revenue retention and other aspects of sustainable PA financing and management are established and functional; 2) Levels of financial resource mobilization are adequate to ensure effective conservation-oriented management of Egypt’s PA system; 3) Business planning and cost-effective management systems are ensuring the effective allocation and management of mobilized resources.
Given the growing demand for access to protected natural areas by tourists in Egypt, it is increasingly important that adequate pricing mechanisms be implemented to ensure that recreational opportunities contribute to biodiversity conservation. It is presumed that the need is even more widely felt than has yet been established. The value of recreation opportunities provided by Egypt's parks is typically under-priced or inefficiently administered. Many parks either charge low or no fees for visitation. Consequently, funds generated by tourism are usually insufficient to cover the costs of biodiversity conservation or even the costs associated with providing visitation opportunities themselves. This challenge can be addressed through the framework of ecosystem services and natural capital. The major obstacle faced by the NCS of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) in implementing revenue generating mechanisms, such as user fees, concession giving, or gift shop sales, is that it is generally difficult to segregate such revenue for management of the protected area, since all government income is expected to be channelled into the consolidated fund and allocated according to national priorities.
STRENGTHENING PROTECTED AREA FINANCING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 2
On the other hand, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or private sector enterprises may not have adequate systems for financial accountability, and their authority as management agents and revenue collectors may be questioned by users and management partners and collaborators. Creative alternative partnerships between governments, private sector enterprises and NGOs may overcome the constraints faced by these actors. In this case, the government would provide the legislation, policy context and regular fiscal oversight, while the NGOs and private sector enterprises would be responsible for implementation of the revenue generation systems. Concessions, as one of the revenue generation mechanisms in Egypt's park system, are facing the same problems; along with the need to develop managerial, legislative, and institutional frameworks.
The objective of this consultancy is to create a new and modern interface on the internet that will act as an effective communication education and public awareness tool for the Protected Area Network in Egypt. It will include information on Protected Areas for different stakeholders, such as potential tourists, private sector, NGOs, within and outside the country. In addition, it will act as an online management tool for Protected Area management. The ‘Protected Area Information Unit’ will be accessed through private login and allow for the exchange of information and cooperation between the management of different protectorates.
The main scope of the website is as follows:
1. Home: Landing page will include a slideshow banner of a number of images from Protected Areas, latest news, events and a register/login capacity for management access to the Protected Area Information Unit.
2. About: Introduction and background information on the Protected Areas network, with tabs to accessing publications and various resources in PDF as well as the source files, and search function.
3. Get Involved: Donations, Partnerships and Concessions, Vacancies, Contact. 4. Visit: Individual pages for each of the 30 Protected Areas, including detailed
content about them, different images in a photo bank and links to external websites if required. (*List of the Protected Areas).
5. Links to important national and international partners’ websites, relevant social media mediums, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc., and other appropriate related sites as required.
6. A powerful and smart internal search engine that present results in a user-friendly and structured way and strong meta-tags for search engine optimization.
7. Update functions for regular maintenance.
8. Tracking counter to enable staff to track and assess the number of visitors to the website and also determine which sections of the website are popular.
9. Creation of ‘Protected Area Information Unit’, accessed via private login with strong privacy settings and secured access, with the following features:
o Registration and verification of Protected Areas management staff for access to the ‘Protected Area Information Unit’.
STRENGTHENING PROTECTED AREA FINANCING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 3 o Ticket collection control reporting and supervision.
o An online submission system allowing users to easily upload and update information, such as technical quarterly, annual reports etc, and contribute to the knowledge base.
10. Site map.
It should include the 30 Egyptian Protected Areas are as follows: 1. Ras Mohamed
2. Wadi el Gamal 3. Wadi El Rayan
4. St. Katherine National Park 5. Red Sea Northern Islands 6. Wadi Degla 7. White Desert 8. Taba 9. Zaranik 10.Ahrash 11.El Omayed
12.Elba National Park 13.Saluga and Ghazal 14.Ashtum El Gamil 15.Lake Qarun 16.Wadi Alaqi 17.Wadi El Assuti 18.El Hassana Dome 19.Petrified Forest 20.Sannur Cave 21.Nabq 22.Abu Galum 23.Lake Burullus 24.Nile River Islands 25.Siwa
26.El Gulf El Kebeer 27.El Dababya 28.El Salum
29.El Wahat El Bahreya 30.Mount Kamel Meteor
Working in close collaboration with the PMU of EPASP, the selected consultant will: Task 1: Create Information Platform Outline
Prepare an outline of the functionality of the proposed platform, demonstration of searchability, and initial design ideas. This must take into account the budget allocated, making provisions for trade-offs, prioritisation of functionality and/or phased implementation. It should also take into consideration the findings of the needs assessment conducted in Task 1.
Task 2: Prepare a Detailed Information Platform Specification
On approval of the information platform and based on a requirement analysis facilitated by the PMU of EPASP, develop a detailed specification for the information platform including:
Overall structure, field definition and design
Logical framework and user interface
List of hardware and software needs to enable development and implementation.
Task 3: Information Platform Development
On approval of the detailed specification by the PMU of EPASP, undertake the information platform architecture, functionality and user interface development.
Task 4: Beta Testing
Upload a beta-version of the information platform to facilitate input of real project data and facilitate limited user access to identify outstanding issues with functionality and “usability”. Where issues are
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identified, undertake bug fixes and system revisions. An incremental version of the beta system may be required depending on the degree of bug fixes and system revisions required.
Task 5: Domain Registration
Provide domain name registrar services and webhosting, including email and data storage, for a period of 2 years.
Task 6: System Release
On acceptance by the PMU of EPASP of the rectified beta version, upload the full working system to open access (on a server to be specified by the EPASP) to allow data input and access by external users.
Task 7: Training in use and maintenance of the system
Provide training in use and maintenance of the system to persons to be named by the PMU of EPASP. This would follow the allocation of responsibilities related to maintenance of the website. The consultant would also prepare a manual, documenting procedures to be followed, for continued population and maintenance of the website.
The website is considered to be divided into two parts. One for public users of the internet and the other is private for the exchange of information and cooperation between the management of different protectorates as follows.
1. Protected Areas Network public online website
It should act as a promotional tool for Protected Area Network in Egypt, reflecting the project’s mission and aims. It should be bilingual (English and Arabic), fully functional, user-friendly, visually appealing and informative. It should include the prescribed content and design layout be agreed upon with project management staff and NCS. This includes but is not limited to:
a. General introduction and background information on the Protected Areas network (mission, objective, significance, map)
b. Comprehensive photo bank of high-resolution quality images of Protected Areas
c. Information and photos of the 30 Protected Areas
d. Information on partnerships and concessions, donations and vacancies e. Links to appropriate related websites and social media mediums f. Access to the ‘Protected Area Information Unit’ via login
g. Search function
h. Strong internal meta-tags
2. ‘Protected Area Information Unit’ private online interface
It should also act as a user-friendly bilingual (Arabic and English) management tool for Protected Areas management, accessed through private, allowing for data storage, exchange of information, cooperation and communication between the management of different protectorates. This includes but is not limited to:
a. Online submission system
b. Ticket collection control reporting and supervision Phase A: Requirement Analysis and Specification
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1. What the system should precisely do and its development constraints.
2. Surveys of previous and related work of Egyptian protected areas and any others for famous international protected Areas.
Phase B: Data Collection and Content Preparation
1. Prepare content and concept draft for a bilingual, English and Arabic, website in a detailed proposal to be provided in both soft and hard copies.
2. Collect and purchase stock and copyright of required high-resolution quality images of the 30 Protected Areas to be provided in softcopy.
3. Conduct evaluation meetings with Project Management team and NCS to receive suggestions and comments which should be incorporated by the Consultant without extra charge.
4. Prepare final content and concept for website in both soft and hard copies based on comments from Project Management team and NCS.
Phase C: Design and Implementation
1. Conceptual design using software management tools. The design should be flexible enough to be expanded for other functionalities in the future; especially for database manipulation and web mapping.
2. Modern implementation of the website using the most impressive web technologies.
P.S. The Consultant will be encouraged to make use of their expertise and creativity to propose and implement relevant website enhancements. Include strong meta-tags to ensure searchability.
Phase D: Operation and Maintenance
1. Provide domain name registrar services and webhosting, including email and data storage, for a period of 5 years.
2. Successfully launch of the website in a bilingual way.
3. Conduct induction training for staff who will manage, maintain and update the website on the tasks necessary to properly and independently run the website. 4. Test and fix errors.
5. Test searchability of website and adjust meta-tags accordingly.
6. Maintain website functionality, systematically fixing errors and providing support for staff with questions.
Notes:
Some issues should be negotiated with the PMU like domain name, CMS …etc.
The consultant shall deliver the following in both soft and hard copy:
Output 1: Information Platform Outline.
Output 2: Detailed Information Platform Specification, including recommended hardware and software needs.
Output 3: Beta-version of full system (and any incremental beta versions required by the EPASP).
Output 4: Fully deployed online version of the PAs portal integrated with Content Management System (CMS).
Output 5: The website application commented source code with any other related files that are used in the designing phase (e.g. flv flash file, psd adobe Photoshop, databases, UML Diagrams, DFD, Database schema, Database ERD, …etc).
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Output 6: A complete user guide document or manual.
Output 7: A complete developer guide with all its related work (e.g. a complete list of all programs and software with their versions that are used in the designing and implementation phases, database design, flow diagrams, …etc).
Output 8: Training for website maintenance and updating. Please note that:
The EPASP project will be responsible for review of the outputs and for giving feedback in a timely manner.
Technical Skills and Expertise
Expert knowledge of modern website techniques, including graphic design.
Expert knowledge in Content Management System and Responsive design.
Expert knowledge of Photoshop, illustrator, acrobat, Word and other graphics applications.
Expert knowledge of HTML, CSS, DHML, VB Script or Java Script.
Strong organizational skills and ability to handle multiple tasks under tight deadlines is essential.
Must be fluent in Arabic and English.
Must have experience in similar previous assignments.
Core Competencies
Professionalism: Strong expertise in the development of web-based applications and on-line services with good analytical skills and ability to solve problems.
User Orientation: ability to understand user needs in order to provide user-friendly and ergonomic solutions that effectively meet user requirements.
Planning and Organizing: Ability to plan projects and organize activities, work to tight deadlines, handle concurrent requests, and manage conflicting priorities.
Communication: Good spoken and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical information and prepare written documentation in a clear, concise style.
Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
All materials produced in the scope of this assignment (including images, videos, text, etc.) are copyright of the project/EEAA. No part may be reproduced, copied, transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical or graphic) without the prior written permission of the project/EEAA.
The final product will contain no material from other copyrighted works without a written consent of the copyright holder. The consultant will obtain such consents at his or her own expense and will file them with the PMU and NCS at the time the product is completed. Any obligations associated with permissions, such as free copies, will be the responsibility of the consultant.
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The consultant will carry on their mission in full collaboration with the Project Management Unit (PMU) and Nature Conservation Sector (NCS), who will supervise the consultant from the planning phase onwards and support the consultant to achieve a better understanding of the current status in Protected Areas from different socioeconomic, demographic and environmental perspectives, in order to create the most effective online interface possible. Technologies used for designing and developing the website should be agreed with the PMU and NCS before starting the design and the implantation phase. EEAA and the project team will assist the consultant in contacting partners when carrying out interviews and meetings; organize the consultation workshops with stakeholders; and provide administrative support to the selected consultant.
The consultant will be supervised by Project Director and Project Manager, and the UNDP Programme Officer. A team of national consultants and EEAA working group will cooperate with the consultant in the process of EPASP development/finalization.
20% upon submission & acceptance of the website data content according to specifications and web graphic design specifications by PMU and NCS.
30% upon acceptance of the website interface design by PMU & NCS
20% upon finalizing website Beta-version soft launch on the web, and providing the required training to NCS administrators on operating the site.
30% upon acceptance of the PMU & NCS to the final launching of the website with all features fully operational according to specifications and after successful final launch and troubleshooting any bugs or errors that might occur during operation on the initial maintenance period.
Consultant meeting the above requirements are requested to submit: (1) A technical proposal (not more than 10 pages); (2) A schedule for delivery of outputs; (3) A detailed financial offer for each phases A,B,C and D; (4) Detailed CVs via email to
[email protected] specifying in the subject line “NCS Portal”.
Proposals will be evaluated based on price/cost effectiveness, suggested approach and experience.
Application requirements
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1. Company profile, previous work and CVs 2. Detailed Technical offer
3. Detailed Financial offer for the implementation of the task, including the detailed budget for each of phases A,B and C.
via email to [email protected] and [email protected] in
“website for the Protected Area of Egypt” Deadline: March 20th, 2015.
