Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) Website Design & Development

Transcription

1 No. 150-Web-0318 Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) Website Design & Development Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) 107 Arrow Road Greensboro, NC submissions must be in writing and directed to: Brooke Kochanski Manager of Marketing & Communications PART 107 Arrow Road Greensboro, NC Phone: (336)

2 1. Overview The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) is seeking to update its website to enhance the user experience, simplify content management, and provide better information and customer service to its community, while meeting high standards for design quality and visual appeal in a mobile compatible website. PART seeks the assistance of an experienced company that can accomplish all of the functionality identified in this RFP. PART also seeks a company that has the capability of integrating additional features and functionality that may be identified in the future. The experienced company should understand local government and transportation/transit services, to help us achieve our vision all while providing 24/7/365 support. 2. Background PART is a unit of local government created in 1997 to enhance all forms of transportation in the Piedmont Triad Region. Governed by representatives from 10 member counties, four Metropolitan Planning Organizations, the Triad s four largest cities (Burlington, High Point, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem), two regional airports, and the NCDOT Board of Transportation, our work is part of a larger statewide effort to improve transportation systems in North Carolina. Working with our partners, we strive to enhance mobility, address congestion, and reduce transportation related impacts on our air quality. PART operates the PART Express regional bus system connecting the major cities of the Piedmont and bringing people from the outlying counties into the urban areas. Fifteen PART Express Routes and Shuttle Routes are offered during weekdays with several routes running on the weekend. PART Express served 438,859 passenger trips in FY In addition to PART Express, PART also operates a regional vanpool program and hosts a carpool matching service. PART participates in a variety of planning activities including the Piedmont Triad Regional Model. PART is located in Greensboro, NC and employs 25 staff members in the Administrative Office. PART Express operations are contracted through a third party provider. The current PART website is hosted on a local server behind a firewall that provides network address translation (NAT). Approximate bandwidth available is 200mb fiber connection that are variably broken up between other devices. 3. Scope of Work PART is seeking to enter into a professional services agreement with a qualified vendor to design and implement a new website based on the above strategy. The PART website URL is currently and we will continue to use this URL upon the launch of a new website. 2

3 PART s emphasis is on incorporating extensive content management tools and database driven architecture while providing a user-friendly and intuitive site structure, and interface that is both attractive and mobile responsive. The goal is to make the website easy for current and potential PART users to engage with information quickly. Other important features would be mobile responsiveness, social media linkage, and PARTs ability to update the site quickly and easily. I. Development of a project plan, including timeline, for the entire scope of work with input from internal PART team II. Redesign of PART s website to create a delightful and uncomplicated experience that includes (but is not limited to) the following features, elements, and functionality: Required Features The information below represents required functional capabilities in the selected CMS. It is not all inclusive; other functionality may be recommended or added. PARTs new website vendor must be able to provide at a minimum: Provide webpages that are vibrant, engaging, interactive and inviting to the public Agenda Management - Upload, create and manage agendas Alerts & Emergency Notification - Alerts posted on website and public notifications sent out through , text message and social media Approval Rights - allow PART system administrator to establish specific rights and capabilities for internal PART staff to update content based upon the role they have in updating the website. PART will have 5 users on the system. Archive Center - Store agendas, minutes, newsletters and other documents Automatic expirations the ability to set a date for content to automatically expire, PART has schedule and route information that will need to be programmed to go live on certain date and old content to expire. Browser Based Administration - Update, delete and create template based web pages Calendar - Update/publish calendars Document Center - Upload/download capability, back-end ability to search within E-Notifications - Electronic subscription, scheduled notifications for and SMS Frequently Asked Questions - Dynamic content Intranet/Extranet - User restricted pages Live Edit - create and edit pages live from the front end Multi-Lingual Support Using Google Translate News & Announcements - Dynamic content News Releases - Online publishing Photo Center - Display community photos in a central location on website Responsive Design - fully mobile responsive design - site adjusts to the screen size of all devices its being view on, includes forms, calendars, etc. Online Forms - Forms/publishing/tracking- PART has multiple forms that will need to be transitioned to the new site including: Contact Us, Parking Pass Request, Route Suggestions, Vanpool Interest, New Rider Form. These forms collect passenger contact information and additional feedback. 3

4 Request Tracking - Citizens can submit request Allow passengers to submit feedback on routes and then see how their request is being handled. (i.e. Route 4 suggestion on time adjustment, would tell customer that PART reviewed, PART approved/denied, etc.) RFP/RFQ/Bid Posting allow for easy posting of bids to the site Rotating Photos/Banners - Dynamic image display Quick Links - Links can be placed directly on the pages Site Search - Internal site search engine, site search log Sitemap & Breadcrumbs Dynamically generated Social Media Interface - Facebook and Twitter feeds (with ability to link to all social media accounts) Site Statistics - Analytics and site audit reports (Currently use Google Analytics) Provide flexibility to easily grow and add new functionality as needed by PART Desired Features Website is capable of being organized into multiple departments and divisions within PART departments, and with the ability for PART website administration to add divisions. Departmental Home Pages the ability for departments to have dedicated pages within the site that follow the same design as the other interior pages Directories, Listing for Staff and Businesses ability to allow citizens to search for staff or business information Forward To a Friend - extension Printable Pages - Print-friendly function Broken Links Finder - Site visitors can enter comments concerning how they accessed the page RSS Feeds out Announcements, route changes, and other news for the public to subscribe to Online Job Postings and Application - Applicants can also create an online profile, fill out application and attach additional documents. Online Payments - Secure online transaction by departments- PART currently uses PayPal for sales of Prepaid Transit Passes online, we would be interested in integrating this into the new system. Also use XpressPay.com for Vanpool fare collection could all of this be integrated into the new site for payment collection. Interactive Map PART would like to have some feature that would allow us to post vanpools that are looking for riders so riders could see where the vans go and that would provide information on their schedule etc. Cost Calculator-Cost calculator feature added to the site so people could compare the costs of driving vs. the bus/carpool/vanpool III. Development and implementation Build the website based on the approved design Migrate existing content and images (as approved by PART staff) Create and build appropriate content as needed, including integration of new 4

5 photos and videos Develop any and all templates needed for staff to easily update web content Complete all other work necessary to develop and fully test the website Provide PART with access to a test website during the development of the new website Ensure website is fully operational IV. Training: Provide CMS training to a minimum of two team members V. Support : Provide three years of website support, CMS maintenance from the date the new website is live, including performance and load testing to ensure that the website meets predefined performance and load testing metrics VI. Website Hosting: PART may wish to have the website hosted. Please provide details related to hosting services: How often do you backup? How often do you have down time? How often do you upgrade software/hardware? Please describe your technical support. Please describe your security. Please describe your methodology and service level agreements. Pricing, terms and conditions. Any need for questions, and/or clarification should be submitted to brookek@partnc.org, no later than February 19, Any request for clarification and associated response may be shared with all firms included in this solicitation. 4. Timeline The approximate RFP schedule is summarized below: Issuance of RFP: February 9, 2018 Deadline for Questions: February 19, 2018 Responses to Questions Posted: February 23, 2018 Vendor submittals due: March 9, 2018, 4PM EST Vendor notification of award, and development of required contractual documents: March 16,

6 5. Evaluation Criteria All Proposals received will first be reviewed for completeness and inclusion of the information specified in this RFP document. The absence of any required information may result in the submitted Proposal as being non-responsive and non-responsible from further analysis. All Proposals containing complete information will then be evaluated based on the following criteria: Factor Weight Reasonableness of the cost projections and budget 25 Project proposal approach 15 Timeline of development 15 Experience on similar assignments / References 30 Technical details 15 Maximum Points Budget PARTs available budget for this initial project is $ 20,000. Budgets may be available for maintenance, support, and hosting for years two and forward. 7. Payment Payments to the Successful Proposer shall be made in arrears, and based on work performed to the satisfaction of PART. The Successful Proposer shall submit fully documented invoices within seven (7) calendar days after the services have been rendered. These invoices shall be submitted to PART, Attn: Marketing Department, 107 Arrow Road, Greensboro, NC All invoices shall reference the appropriate Contract number, the dates the service was provided, and the type of service (s) provided to PART in the prior month. 8. Special conditions General The Successful proposer shall comply with all applicable laws, PART Licenses, and code provisions. The Agreement shall include certain clauses which will safeguard the interests of the PART including, without limitations, cancellation for convenience, hold harmless/indemnity, no damages for delay and no adverse interest to PART s clauses. The Agreement shall address, but not be limited to, the following terms and conditions: Amendments to the Agreement The PART Executive Director or his authorized designee shall have sole authority to amend the Agreement on behalf of the PART. Termination for Cause Either Party may cause cancel this Agreement by notifying the other Party in writing thirty (30) days prior to the proposed termination date, specifying the other Party s failure to perform under 6

7 this agreement. If the failure to perform is curable, the defaulting party shall be given an opportunity to cure the default within a reasonable period, by notifying the non-defaulting party within ten (10) business days of receiving notice of cancellation. As necessary, the cure period shall be extended; provided that, the defaulting party has initiated the process and is utilizing commercially reasonable efforts to cure the default. Termination for Convenience Either Party may terminate this agreement upon 30 days written notice to the other party for any reason. Assignment of Agreement The Successful Proposer shall not assign any portions of the Agreement, or any part of his/her operations, without written permission granted by the PART through the Executive Director, in PART s sole discretion. Compliance with Orders, Laws and Cancellation The Successful Proposer shall comply with all local, state, and federal directives, ordinances, rules, orders, and laws as applicable to this RFP. Non-compliance with all local, state, and federal directives, orders, and laws may be considered grounds for termination of the Agreement. Conflict of Interest If any individual member of the Successful Proposer, or an employee of a Proposer, or an immediate family member of the same is also a member of any board, commission, or agency affiliated with PART, that individual is subject to PART s conflict of interest policy. Successful Proposer Contact Successful Proposer shall include the name, office address and mobile number of the firm s intended Contact. In the event an Agreement is signed with Proposer, the Contact shall be available at one of these contact numbers on a daily basis for purposes of addressing complaints and receiving information as to Agreement performance. Indemnification The Successful Proposer(s) shall agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless PART and its officials, employees and agents (collectively referred to as Indemnitees ) and each of them from and against all losses, costs, penalties, fines, damages, claims, expenses (including attorney s fees), liabilities (collectively referred to as Liabilities ) by reason of any injury to or death of any person or damage to or destruction or loss of any property arising out of, resulting from, or in connection with the performance or non-performance of the services contemplated by the Agreement which is or is alleged to be (1) directly or indirectly caused, in whole or in part, by any act, omission, default or negligence (whether active or passive) of the Indemnities, or any of them or (2) the failure of the Successful Proposer to comply with any of the requirements specified within the Agreement, or the failure of the Successful Proposer to conform to statutes, ordinances, or other regulations or requirements of any governmental authority, federal or state, in connection with the performance under the Agreement. Successful Proposer expressly agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnitees, or any of them, from and against all liabilities which may be asserted by an employee or former employee of Successful Proposer, or any of its subcontractors, if applicable and as provided above, for which the Successful Proposer s liability to such employee or former employee would otherwise be limited to payments under state Workers Compensation or similar laws. The Indemnifications will be interpreted to comply with North Carolina Statutes. 7

8 Insurance Within ten (10) days after notification of award, the Successful Proposer shall furnish evidence of insurance to PART. Execution of an Agreement is contingent upon the receipt of proper insurance documents. If the insurance certificate is received within the specified time frame, but not in the manner prescribed in this RFP, the Successful Proposer shall be verbally notified of such deficiency and shall have an additional five (5) calendar days to submit a corrected certificate to PART. If the Successful Proposer fails to submit the required insurance documents in the manner prescribed in this RFP, within fifteen (15) calendar days after the Successful Proposer has been awarded project, the Proposer may be in default of the Agreement s terms and conditions. Under such circumstances, the Successful Proposer may be prohibited from submitting future responses to PART. Information regarding any insurance requirements shall be directed to the Agreement s Administrator, Supriya Raghav at ext Additionally, Successful Proposer may be liable to PART for the cost of re-procuring the services, caused by Successful Proposer s failure to submit the required documents. Hold harmless The Successful Proposer shall hold harmless and indemnify PART for any errors in the provision of services and for any fines which may result from the fault of the Successful Proposer. Audit Rights and Records Retention The Successful Proposer agrees to provide access to PART, or to any of its duly authorized representatives, to any books, documents, papers, and records of the Successful Proposer which are directly pertinent to this Agreement, for the purpose of audit, examination, excerpts, and transcriptions. The Successful Proposer shall maintain and retain any and all books, documents, papers and records pertinent to the Agreement for three (3) years after PART makes final payment under the Agreement and all other pending matters are closed. Successful Proposer s failure to adhere to, or refusal to comply with, this condition shall result in the immediate cancellation of the Agreement by PART. Proposer s Warranty Proposer warrants that no one was paid a fee, commission, gift, or other consideration contingent upon receipt of an award for the services specified herein. 9. Proposal Protest Procedures This section describes the policies and procedures governing the receipt and resolution of vendor protests in connection with this (RFP). The procedure shall be as follows: a. Pre-Proposal Protests All protests concerning solicitation specifications, criteria and/or procedures shall be submitted in writing (defined as being sent or received via letter or facsimile on official firm/agency letterhead or by electronic mail) to the PART Executive Director as specified below not later than 10 business days prior to the deadline for submission of bids/proposals. The PART Executive Director may, within his or her discretion, postpone the deadline for submission of bids/proposals, but in any case, shall provide a written response to all protests not later than five (5) business days prior to the deadline for submission of bids/proposals. If the deadline for submission of bids/proposals is postponed by the PART Executive Director as the result of a protest the postponement will be announced through an addendum to the solicitation. 8

9 The decision by the PART Executive Director shall be the final agency decision on the matter but shall be subject to judicial review as set forth by FTA below. b. Pre-Award Protests With respect to protests made after the deadline for submission of bids/proposals but before contract award by PART, protests shall be limited to those protests alleging a violation of Federal or State law, a challenge to the bids/proposals evaluation and award process, PART s failure to have or follow its protest procedures or its failure to review a complaint or protest. Such protests shall be submitted in writing (defined as being sent or received via letter or facsimile on official firm/agency letterhead or by electronic mail) to the PART Executive Director as specified below not later than five (5) business days after the Recommendation for Contract Award announcement by PART. The PART Executive Director may, within his or her discretion, postpone the award of the contract, but in any case, shall provide a written response to all protests not later than three (3) business days prior to the date that PART shall announce the contract award. The decision by the PART Executive Director shall be the final agency decision on the matter but shall be subject to judicial review as set forth or review by FTA as specified below. c. Requirements for Protests All protests must be submitted to PART in writing (defined as being sent or received via letter or facsimile on official firm/agency letterhead or by electronic mail), with sufficient documentation, evidence and legal authority to demonstrate that the Protestor is entitled to the relief requested. The protest must be certified as being true and correct to the best knowledge and information of the Protestor, be signed by the Protestor, and be notarized. The protest must also include a mailing address to which a response should be sent. Protests received after the deadlines for receipt of protests specified above are subject to denial without any requirement for review or action by PART. All protests must be directed in writing (defined as being sent or received via letter or facsimile 0on official firm/agency letterhead or by electronic mail) to: PART Executive Director Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation 107 Arrow Road, Greensboro, NC scottr@partnc.org Fax: d. Protest Response - The PART Executive Director shall issue written responses to all protests received by the required protest response dates. All protest responses shall be transmitted by first-class U.S. Postal Service to the address indicated in the protest letter. For convenience, PART will also send a copy of the response to a protest to the Protester by facsimile and/or electronic mail if a facsimile number and/or electronic mail address are indicated in the protest letter. The protest response transmitted by U.S. Postal Service shall be the official PART response to the protest and PART will not be responsible for the failure of the Protester to receive the protest response by either facsimile or electronic mail. e. Review of Protests by FTA All protests involving contracts financed with federal assistance shall be disclosed to the FTA in accordance with FTA Circular F. Protesters shall exhaust 9

10 all administrative remedies with PART prior to pursuing protests with FTA. FTA limits its reviews of protests to: a grantee s failure to have or follow its protest procedures; a grantee s failure to review a complaint or protest when presented an opportunity to do so; or violations of Federal law or regulation. Appeals to FTA must be received by the cognizant FTA regional or headquarters office within five (5) working days of the date the Protester has received actual or constructive notice of PART s final decision or within five (5) working days of the date the Protester has identified other grounds for appeal to FTA. 10. Submittal Requirements PART will evaluate vendor experience, qualifications and capabilities for developing and implementing a new PART website. The desired qualifications are outlined below. Responders are required to submit a written narrative corresponding to each of the underlined section items: Introduction Overview and summary of how your company will assist PART in reaching its goals for website redesign and hosting Company Profile Company overview and history o How long has the company been in business o Number of current employees o Number of current clients Capabilities of company - Why should your company be chosen Management Team Name, title, role (e.g., project management, training, design) Years of experience Project Development Approach Proposed timeline to complete the project in identified phases Detailed explanation of all project phases including consultation, design, development, implementation and training Training options What role PART will play in the project Scope of Work Project phase deliverables What will be expected of PART during the process What PART can expect from the company Website hosting options for consideration Municipal/Transit Website Design Experience References (minimum three references, including all contact information below) Please include transit/transportation references if you have those. o Client name o Website URL o Client contact person and title o Phone o address Hosting and Security (describe all available) Data Center 10

11 o Minimum requirements: reliable data center, managed network infrastructure, onsite power backup and generators, multiple telecom/network providers, redundant network, secure facility, 24/7/365 system monitoring Hosting o Minimum requirements: automated software updates, server management and monitoring, multi-tiered software architecture, software updates and security patches, database updates and security patches, antivirus management and updates, server-class hardware, redundant firewall solutions, high performance SAN with N+2 reliability Bandwidth o Minimum requirements: multiple network providers, burst bandwidth of at least 22Gb/s Disaster Recovery o Minimum requirements: 24/7 emergency support, on-line status monitor-event notification s, recovery time objective of at least 8 days, recovery point objective for at least 24 hours, pre-emptive monitoring for disasters, multi geographic region redundant back up data center DDoS Mitigation o Minimum requirements: defined DDoS attack process including the ability to identify the attack source and type of attack, the ability to monitor the attack for a threshold and a plan once threshold is reached Upgradable security packages Support and Maintenance (describe all available) System ownership Ongoing training opportunities and availability of robust, self-service documentation and technical support (videos and training manuals, etc.) Availability of continued communications post website implementation (with consultants and support staff) Support services - emergency and non-emergency situations Project Pricing Estimate/Cost for Services Outlined Cost for services must be clearly defined and articulated in detail. Specify detailed amounts of each item below: First year development fees including: Website Design, Development, and Deployment: 1. Content Management System (CMS) 2. Amount of content migration (entire website or a specific number of pages) 3. Cost associated with the required and desired features (if offered by firm). Detailed description of the cost associated with features either individually or grouped together as necessary Professional Consulting Services & Training 1. Days/hours of training, number of employees to be trained, on-site or webinar Additional project enhancement products/functionality Ongoing fees for hosting, maintenance and support for Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 11

12 Description of Features and Functionality Included with the CMS At minimum include: List of all features and functionality included in the proposed CMS. Must address all features and functionality listed in Required Features and Desired Features section of this RFP 11. Proposal Submission The deadline for RFP responses is Friday, March 9, 2018 at 4:00 PM EST. One (1) signed and duly executed original and one (1) digital (USB/Flash Drive) copy of proposal responses with the subject line s # 150-Web-0318 should be submitted in a sealed box or opaque envelope and mailed to: Attention: Brooke Kochanski Manager of Marketing & Communications PART 107 Arrow Road Greensboro, NC Phone: (336) Submittals that are not received on or before the specified deadline will not be accepted (no exceptions). PART reserves the right to request follow-up information or clarification from vendors in consideration. Vendor is responsible to ensure delivery by the date and time included. PART reserves the right to reject any or all submittals, to compare the relative merits of the respective responses, and to choose a vendor, which will best serve the interests of the company. Each response to this RFP shall be done at the sole cost and expense of each proposing vendor and with the express understanding that no claims against the PART for reimbursement will be accepted. PART is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in employment or the provision of services. 12

13 ATTACHMENT A The requirements of the Federal and State Certifications and Assurances are nonnegotiable. All forms must be signed and returned in order for a contractual agreement to be executed. Federally Required and Other Model Contract Clauses 1. No Government Obligation to Third Party 2. Program Fraud and False or Fraudulent Statements 3. Access to Records and Reports 4. Federal Changes 5. Termination 6. Energy Conservation Requirement 7. Civil Rights Requirements 8. DBE (Disadvantage Business Enterprise) 9. Recycled Products 10. Incorporation of FTA Terms 11. Compliance with NC E-Verify 12. Iran Divestment Act 13