T
ERMS OF
R
EFERENCE FOR
W
EBSITE
M
AINTENANCE AND
S
UPPORT
FOR THE LED
.
CO
.
ZA AND LGICT
.
ORG
.
ZA WEB PORTALS HOSTED BY
SALGA
B
ACKGROUND
The South African LED Network and LGICT Network are projects hosted by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) at their national office in Pretoria. They offer two dedicated internet portals led.co.za and lgict.org.za as knowledge management and networking tools for practitioners in local economic development (LED) and local government information and communication technologies (LGICT).
Both portals provide access to resources, strategies and policies, case studies, information about events, tenders and opportunities to inform local government, policy makers, consultants, researchers and other stakeholders in the fields of LED and ICT at local government level. The portals also aim to facilitate interaction among the dedicated LED and ICT communities and create Communities of Practice.
This assignment is for a contractor to provide expert technical maintenance and support for both websites and to develop and implement technical solutions that improve the portals’ user friendliness and ability to respond to its audience’s needs on an ongoing basis for six months from 01 April 2012.
A team consisting of four full-time staff and one part time assistant is managing both web portals by updating the sites with content, and ensuring the structures meet the audience needs. The contractor will provide
maintenance and support services for both websites (both are based on Drupal open source software) and to a limited extent also develop and implement new features. The services sought are indicated in these
terms of reference. The contractor will be expected to be flexible and responsive to the web portal support services requested as well as provide innovative ideas and recommendations to ensure that the portals are considered to be cutting edge by their users.
G
ENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Overall, the contractor is required to: Ensure implementation, troubleshooting, and maintenance support for the two existing systems; and to collaborate with the team, serve as a resource for problem analysis and solution.
Provide more effective development and design for the functionality of the two websites.
Provide technical and creative expertise to create, manage, and update.
A.
S
ITE HOSTING
&
ADMINISTRATION
Assure a reliable hosting environment and a stable functioning of the led.co.za and lgict.org.za internet platforms.
Backups – data backups weekly, code backups as needed.
In case of a serious incident, the restoration of the website from the most recent backup needs to be assured.
Security – manage all aspects of website security to protect confidential member information and existing content (data, project information, contact details, etc.), and prevent hacks, defacing, etc.
B.
R
EGULAR TECHNICAL SITE
&
CODE MAINTENANCE
Assure the Drupal Website Maintenance.
Maintain development or staging environments separate from live environments.
Install Software, module/Security patches and upgrades including bug fixes.
Install, upgrade or modify existing modules on sites.
Manage, edit, update and maintain the site (this includes all development work: CSS/Theming, Drupal, jQuery, etc.).
C.
O
NGOING WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
(I
MPROVEMENT OF SITE
FUNCTIONALITIES
)
Improve design of Community of Practice (CoP) interface one led.co.za ensuring the improvement of user interface.
Maintain and improve CoP functionality.
Analyse the existing web site functionalities.
Maintain ongoing development on existing sites and add new features where needed.
Manage, update and improve site navigation and information architecture.
Manage web design; enhancements to the sites’ look and feel on an ongoing basis.
Improving existing site designs for layout, graphics, etc., and developing innovative new designs.
Redevelopment and design of pages
Search engine optimization
Improve the sites (LG ICT &LED) toward higher Social Media integration
Manage, update and improve the sites so that mostly the same features, backend, modules and GUI are used on both platforms.
D.
S
PECIFIC
F
EATURES
Development, design and implementation of new specific features on the websites based on requests from the team. These will occur on demand and the proposal should accommodate approximately 3 days per month for such developments.
E.
M
ANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
The assignment will be part time, based on the days per week/month required to fulfill the tasks outlined above. These are to be estimated as part of the proposal. If hours / days are not used within the month allocated (for example for development of new features), they will roll over into the following month.
The assignment will be managed by the SA LED Network team based at SALGA. All options and recommendations for improving the websites will be agreed through the team, which will directly collaborate with the contractor on different sections of the web portals.
The LED Network team will undertake quarterly meetings at their offices in Pretoria with the contractor to review performance and develop work plans for the following period.
F.
Q
UALIFICATIONS
The contractor is required to have: extensive knowledge and experience of website development and management by making use of innovative technologies and applications;
specific and in-depth expertise in the Drupal content management system.
excellent communication skills and the capacity to be responsive to changing needs and requirements as communicated by the LED Network team.
G.
F
ORMAT OF
P
ROPOSALS
Proposals should at a minimum contain the following:
UNDERSTANDING OF THE TERMS OF REFERENCE
The service provider is expected to describe its understanding of the objectives of the project and the Scope of Work.
PROPOSED METHODOLOGY / APPROACH
A clearly quantified proposal on the various benefits shall be outlined by the service provider as well as the cost implications which shall include the administration costs. The service provider shall outline their proposed methodology / approach to this feasibility study.
A capacity statement, stating the service provider’s capacity, qualifications and experience in delivering the abovementioned services;
Detailed description of work experience with traceable references;
An overview on how the service provider intends to engage with the team when undertaking the abovementioned work;
Detailed budget and daily rates (VAT inclusive), specifying all the costs required to undertake the scope of work described above;
Time table and activity plan for the assignment.
PREFERENTIAL PROCUREMENT CLAIM FORM
Complete the attached preference form. It contains general information and serves as a claim form for preference points for Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Status Level of Contribution.
CLOSING DATE
All proposals must be submitted via email to SALGA by 11:00pm on 1st March to the following details: Attention: Mr. Alpheus Malete (Senior Buyer)
amalete@salga.org.za
And cc’d to Ms Britta Ziemann Email: bziemann@salga.org.za
H.
EVALUATION
The following evaluation method will be used:
After the closing date of the bid invitation, an appointed evaluation committee of staff officials of SALGA and possibly other external parties will evaluate the proposals of the bidders. The committee will individually evaluate each of the bid proposals received against the appointed criteria as provided for in Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act of 2005 (As amended).
All proposals submitted will be evaluated on three categories: (i) Functionality (technical content)
(ii) Price
(iii) B-BBEE status level of contribution
Bids are evaluated in accordance with the preferential procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA), using the 80/20 split.
Firstly, the assessment of functionality must be done in terms of the evaluation criteria and the minimum threshold value of 60 points. A bid will be disqualified if it fails to meet the minimum threshold value for functionality as per the bid invitation. Thereafter, only the qualifying bids are evaluated in terms of the 80/20 preference points systems, 80 points will be used for price only and the 20 points are used for B-BBEE Status Level of Contribution.
The Point’s breakdown is as indicated below:
For functionality, the following criteria will be applicable and the maximum value of each criterion is indicated as below:
CRITERIA FOR FUNCTIONALITY WEIGHT
Approach and Methodology 25
Current experience 15
Quality of methodology 15
Expertise and experience of staff 25
Total for functionality 80
Threshold 60
Bidders who score 60 (average) points and above will be considered in phase 2 of the evaluation.
The points for functionality and price will be converted to 80 using the formula prescribed in the 80/20 points system.
The remaining 20 points will be allocated in terms of Regulation 5 (2) and 6 (2) of the Preferential Procurement Regulations, preference points must be awarded to a bidder for attaining the B-BBEE status level of contribution in accordance with the table below:
B-BBEE Status Level of Contributor Number of points
(90/10 system) Number of points (80/20 system) 1 10 20 2 9 18 3 8 16 4 5 12 5 4 8 6 3 6 7 2 4 8 1 2 Non-compliant contributor 0 0
Summary of the evaluation process:
CRITERIA WEIGHT
Functionality/Price converted to 80
B-BBEE status level of contribution 20
TOTAL 100
GENERAL
CONDITIONS
The following should be noted by interested parties:
Intellectual property and ownership of all products developed in the execution of the contract will be vested in SALGA and any and all service providers will sign those rights to SALGA.
Products may not be made available to any unauthorised person or institution or sold for profit without prior written consent from SALGA.
On completion or termination of the agreement, all products must be handed over to SALGA.
No information concerning the tender or award of the tender may be made available by the Bidder to other parties without prior consultation and written approval from SALGA.
Payment will be made on a monthly basis and this shall relate to the administration costs of the applicable service benefits as quoted for by the service provider.
The successful bidder will be required to be bound by confidentiality.
The successful bidder will be required to enter into a service level agreement (specific conditions of contract) with SALGA
DURATION
The time period for this assignment will be 6 months, starting from the 1st April until 30 September 2012 with an option for renewal for another 6 months after this.
MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND ASSIGNMENT ENQUIRIES
All enquiries related to the objectives and scope of this assignment should be directed to:
Britta Ziemann
SALGA National office
International Advisor LED Network Tel: 012 369 8059
