REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Title of the RFI: Development of a Drupal-based institutional website for UNU-WIDER Date of this RFI: 24 November 2014 Closing Date for Receipt of RFI: 22 December 2014 RFI number: UNU-WIDER RFI Address:procurement@wider.unu.edu Address RFI response by fax to the Attention of: Ms. Tuuli Levit Fax number: UNSPSC code/s: Internet or intranet client application development services; Software or hardware engineering; Computer services, world wide web WWW site design services INTRODUCTION DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS The World Institute for Development Economics Research in Helsinki (UNU-WIDER) hereby invites qualified firms to submit a Request for Information (RFI) to participate in an upcoming competitive bidding exercise for the development of a Drupal-based UNU-WIDER institutional website. This Request for a Request for Information (RFI) will serve to conduct market research to identify potential suppliers capable of providing services for the above stated requirement and to request estimated costs associated with the requirement for planning purposes. Industry responses as a result of this announcement shall focus on providing recommendations for the requirement detailed in the attached Terms of Reference (TOR). UNU WIDER RFI / Page 1

2 This market research shall be conducted at NO COST TO THE UNITED NATIONS. This announcement is not a solicitation for proposals, and accordingly, no contract will be awarded from this announcement. No reimbursement will be made for any cost associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests. No telephone calls requesting a solicitation will be accepted or acknowledged. UNU-WIDER reserves the right to reject RFIs received after the above deadline. UNU-WIDER reserves the right to change or cancel the requirements of this RFI at any time. Thus, submitting a reply does not automatically guarantee your company will be considered for receipt of the solicitation when issued. Only Vendors which are deemed at the UNs sole discretion to be eligible and qualified upon evaluation of their RFI submissions may receive the final tender solicitation documents. Please read carefully the Prerequisites for Eligibility below. Information provided in this RFI may be used to create any subsequent United Nations Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation to Bid (ITB). Respondents should clearly mark any proprietary information submitted in response to this RFI. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Interested vendors may forward their Expressions of Interest along with the signed vendor forms via to procurement@wider.unu.edu no later than Monday 22 December 2014 (COB Helsinki, Finland) with a copy to tuuli.levit@wider.unu.edu. All RFI submissions should be sent via , citing the RFI reference number and title in the subject line. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS Please see the attached TOR document. NOTE Information on tendering for the UN Procurement System is available free of charge at the following address: Only the United Nationals Global Marketplace (UNGM) has been authorized to collect a nominal fee from vendors that wish to receive automatically Procurement Notices or Request for Information. Please subscribe to UNU WIDER RFI / Page 2

3 VENDOR RESPONSE FORM RFI Reference: UNU-WIDER RFI TO: Fax: FROM: Procurment Unit / UNU-WIDER procurement@wider.unu.edu /Attn. Tuuli Levit/Procurement Unit SUBJECT: UNU-WIDER Drupal Website Development To be filled by the Vendor (All fields marked with * are mandatory) COMPANY INFORMATION UN Global Market Place (UNGM) Vendor ID number* Legal Company name*: Company Contact*: Address*: City*: Postal code*: Country*: Telephone Number*: Fax Number*: Address*: Company Website: We declare that our company fully meets the prerequisites A, B, C, D and F for eligibility to register with the UNU-WIDER as outlined in paragraph 1 of RFI INSTRUCTIONS page Signature: Date: Name and title: UNU WIDER RFI / Page 3

4 RFI INSTRUCTIONS 1) Registering as a Vendor with the United Nations Vendors interested in fulfilling the requirement described above must be registered at the UN Global Marketplace ( with the UN Secretariat in order to be eligible to participate in any solicitation. Information on the registration process can be found at Vendors who have not completed the UNGM registration process with the UN Secretariat before the closing date of the RFI are not considered eligible to participate in solicitations of the UN Secretariat. We strongly recommend all companies to register at least at Level 1 under the UN Secretariat prior to participating in any solicitations. Vendors already registered at the UN Global Marketplace with the UN Secretariat must ensure that the information and documentation (e.g. financial statements, address, contact name, etc.) provided in connection with their registration are up to date in UNGM. Please verify and ensure that your company is registered under its full legal name. Prerequisites for Eligibility In order to be eligible for UN registration, you must declare that: A. Your company (as well as any parent, subsidiary or affiliate companies) is not listed in, or associated with a company or individual listed in: I. the Compendium of United Nations Security Council Sanctions Lists ( or II. the IIC Oil for Food List website or, if listed on either, this has been disclosed to the United Nations Procurement Division in writing. B. Your company (as well as any parent, subsidiary or affiliate companies) is not currently removed or suspended by the United Nations or any other UN organisation (including the World Bank); C. Your company (as well as any parent, subsidiary of affiliate companies) is not under formal investigation, nor have been sanctioned within the preceding three (3) years, by any national authority of a United Nations Member State for engaging or having engaged in proscribed practices, including but not limited to: corruption, fraud, coercion, collusion, obstruction, or any other unethical practice; D. Your company has not declared bankruptcy, are not involved in bankruptcy or receivership proceedings, and there is no judgment or pending legal action against your company that could impair your company's operations in the foreseeable future; E. Your company does not employ, or anticipate employing, any person(s) who is, or has been a UN staff member within the last year, if said UN staff member has or had prior professional dealings with the Vendor in his/her capacity as UN staff member within the last three years of service with the UN (in accordance with UN post-employment restrictions published in ST/SGB/2006/15. F. Your company undertakes not to engage in proscribed practices (including but not limited to: corruption, fraud, coercion, collusion, obstruction, or any other unethical practice), with the UN or any other party, and to conduct business in a manner that averts any financial, operational, reputational or other undue risk to the UN. UNU WIDER RFI / Page 4

5 IMPORTANT NOTICE: Any false, incomplete or defective vendor registration may result in the rejection of the application or cancellation of an already existing registration. 2) RFI Process Vendors interested in participating in the planned solicitation process should forward their Information (as requested in the RFI) to UNU-WIDER by the closing date set forth in this RFI. Due to the high volume of communications UNU-WIDER is not in a position to issue confirmation of receipt of RFIs. Please note that no further details of the planned solicitation can be made available to the vendors prior to issuance of the solicitation documents. UNU WIDER RFI / Page 5

6 1. BACKGROUND Terms of Reference (TOR) Development of a Drupal-based institutional website for UNU-WIDER UNU-WIDER is a research institute of the United Nations University and a global think tank in development economics. The mandate of UNU-WIDER is threefold: to undertake multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on conditions affecting the world's poorest people; to provide a forum for professional interaction; to promote capacity strengthening and training for scholars and government officials in the field of economic and social policy making. The UNU-WIDER website ( is the principal public-facing information portal for the Institute s news, events and research activities and acts as a repository for a large and growing volume of open access publications. Under the current web redevelopment project, UNU-WIDER seeks a technical partner to implement a new website design and architecture within a high-performance Drupal-based platform/content management system and to provide expert support in developing automatic feeds from existing Drupal and CiviCRM databases. 2. KEY REQUIREMENTS Portal running on Drupal 7 and MySQL 5x technologies CSS templates and HTML5 pages (35 unique templates) based on designs and site architecture to be provided by the Institute. Maintenance template with a simplified website version for offline use Migration of existing web content and archives to new page formats (view our current site here: Customized CMS based on administrator roles and the UNU-WIDER s own content publishing workflows Integrated Google analytics page with customized visualization tools and templates for reporting Modules including but not limited to user controlled carousel, blog, related articles, trending articles, recommended articles, citation builder Automatic feeds to the website from existing: - Drupal-based publications database (circa 3,500 records); and - CiviCRM profiles (300 profiles) Integration of Reuters Journal Citation Reports for Impact factor of journals Apache Solr global search engine or comparable Google search engine optimization Multi-platform responsiveness for desktop, laptops, tablet and smartphone users Social media plugins UNU WIDER RFI / Page 6

7 Web application security Full technical documentation including deployment guide, final site architecture, code etc. Note: A graphic designer is not required for this project Additional support required: Client services in English Advice on trends and issues affecting development and implementation especially with regard to Drupal systems linking and CiviCRM customization Availability to respond to queries and provide regular updates on progress as against the project schedule Web administrator training Ability to collaborate with client within time zone +02:00/UCT,Helsinki, UNU-WIDER working hours between Monday Friday 09:00-17:00 3. DURATION Initial five (5) month contract with one (1) year extension for support and maintenance services. 4. SUBMISSION INFORMATION Companies interested in receiving the solicitation documents are requested to submit the following information: 1. a short statement on your company s profile; 2. availability to work between March to August 2015; 3. expertise in Drupal and CiviCRM development (supported by documentation); 4. any experience with bibliographic/library resources; 5. whether components would need to be subcontracted to third-party developers; 6. an estimated initial hourly/daily cost quotation (in USD) as for the above required services; 7. an estimated service yearly support and maintenance service cost quotation for the above; 8. any other relevant information such as certification, awards and/or samples of previous work (links). UNU WIDER RFI / Page 7