Page 1 of 19 Request for Proposals Public Awareness Campaign Content Development RFP #: 15-013 Deadline for Response: 2 PM 11/10/15 Children s Services Council of Palm Beach County 2300 High Ridge Road Boynton Beach, Florida 33426 561-740-7000 www.cscpbc.org
Page 2 of 19 Table of Contents SECTION 1: PROPOSED SCHEDULE...3 SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION...4 2.1 WHAT WE ARE SEEKING... 4 2.2 THE COUNCIL... 4 2.3 OVERVIEW OF THE CHILDREN S SERVICES COUNCIL... 4 SECTION 3: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL...5 3.1 PROJECT GOALS... 5 3.2 SCOPE OF WORK... 5 3.3 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS... 6 SECTION 4: SELECTION PROCESS...6 4.1 EVALUATION OF QUALIFICATIONS... 6 4.2 SELECTION CRITERIA... 7 4.3 NOTICE OF SELECTED PROPOSER(S) FOR INTERVIEW(S)... 7 4.4 NOTICE OF SELECTED PROPOSER(S) FOR CONTRACT(S) DISCUSSIONS... 7 SECTION 5: RFP PROCESS...8 5.1 LIMITATIONS ON CONTACTING CSC PERSONNEL... 8 5.2 PROPOSERS CONFERENCE... 8 5.3 PROPOSER DISQUALIFICATION... 8 5.4 INQUIRIES... 8 5.5 ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSALS... 9 5.6 FINAL STEPS... 9 5.7 IMPORTANT REMINDERS... 9 SECTION 6: RFP SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMS... 10 RFP FORMS... 11 ATTACHMENT 1 RFP PROJECT SUMMARY... 19 RFP 15-013: PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN CONTENT DEVELOPMENT... 19 RFP 15-014: PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT... 19 RFP 15-015: PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN WEB DESIGN... 19
Page 3 of 19 SECTION 1: PROPOSED SCHEDULE 10/2/2015 RFP Packet is available on CSC website: www.cscpbc.org/openprop 10/21/2015 Proposers Conference Go-To-Meeting with CSC staff to outline project and answer initial questions. Refer to page 8 of this RFP for access information. (Recommended for any organization considering submitting a proposal) 10/22/2015 10/29/2015 Deadline for submission of any clarifying questions related to RFP Final posting of questions and answers and/or clarification or addenda to RFP (if any) to CSC website: www.cscpbc.org/openprop 11/10/2015 RFP RESPONSE DEADLINE: Must be emailed by 2 PM to: BIDS@cscpbc.org Subject: RFP #15-013 CSC s email server date and time stamps all email responses. Proposals are opened publicly beginning at 2:01 PM 11/16-11/20/2015 Evaluation of responses by CSC 11/23-11/25/2015 Notification by email to proposers selected for interviews, if needed, and list of those selected for interviews posted on CSC website: www.cscpbc.org/proposal-outcomes 12/7-12/11/2015 Interviews at CSC offices 12/21/2015 Notification by email of proposers selected for further contract discussions 12/22/2015 1/28/2016 Notification by email of proposers NOT selected for further contract discussions Council approval of contract CSC reserves the right to adjust the timetable and any adjustments will be made available on the CSC website.
Page 4 of 19 SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION 2.1 WHAT WE ARE SEEKING Children s Services Council of Palm Beach County is seeking Content Development (Content) for a website, smart phone app; social media platforms and other media as part of a universal campaign for Palm Beach County (FL) parents raising children prenatally to age 18. Content should address such issues as children s health, behavior, education and safety, as well as provide parents with information about local resources that can address their questions and meet their needs. Note: RFP 15-013: Content Development is one of three RFPs related to this project. To understand the project s scope, please see a summary of all RFPs associated with the CSC Public Awareness Campaign (Attachment 1 RFP Summary), which includes information about companion RFPs (RFP15-014: Mobile App Development and RFP 15-015: Web Design). Vendors can apply to any or all of the companion RFPs. 2.2 THE COUNCIL Children s Services Council of Palm Beach County ( Council or CSC ), a special district created by Palm Beach County voters in 1986, and reauthorized in 2014, provides leadership, funding, services and research on behalf of the county s children so they grow up healthy, safe and strong. 2.3 OVERVIEW OF THE CHILDREN S SERVICES COUNCIL The Council invests resources in programs and services that support the physical, social-emotional and psychological development of children. In order to have an impact in those areas, the Council has four goals: babies are born healthy and children are free from abuse and neglect, are ready to enter kindergarten, and have access to quality afterschool and summer programming. Supported by a blend of federal, state and local funding, our programs and systems are designed to achieve our goals by providing seamless, efficient, and accountable prevention and early intervention services to Palm Beach County s children and families. These systems include: Healthy Beginnings, which provides comprehensive, integrated direct services to pregnant women, infants, and young children (ages 0-5 years). Strong Minds, which provides services to increase the quality of child care and afterschool providers. Bridges, which is a neighborhood-based strategy to achieve CSC s goals at a population level. Bridges address such issues as adult literacy, father involvement, maternal depression, teen pregnancy prevention, cyclical poverty and child development. The Council believes that by offering families the right approach and combinations of programs and services at the right time, in the right place, we will achieve our goals. By strengthening the system of care, which is built upon sound research and strong data, we can achieve our child outcomes. For additional information regarding CSC, please visit www.cscpbc.org.
Page 5 of 19 SECTION 3: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 3.1 PROJECT GOALS The goal of this RFP is to select an organization to create engaging, reliable, relevant and local (Palm Beach County/South Florida) content that can help Palm Beach County parents, and those parenting, raise their children to be healthy, safe and strong. Content will need to address the health, behavior, education and safety of children prenatally to 18. Content must also include parenting information that connects national trending issues with local resources. Content will be shared via a website, mobile app, numerous social media platforms and other media. Content Structure: We anticipate six issue areas health, behavior, education, safety, parenting, and essential services. Each issue area may have up to 10 main topics or content areas (article, blog, Q&A, video, etc.) and each topic area should be broken down by the following eight age categories: Prenatal; Infant (0-1); Toddler (1-3); Preschool (3-5); Child (5-8); Tween (8-11); Young Teen (11-14); Older Teen (14-18). In addition to the main topics or content areas, we are seeking content snacks that expound on the issues, which would be shareable via social media. Snacks may be short Vine videos, Top 10 lists, infographics, animations, expert blogs, etc. Example: Issue: Education Age category: Preschool (3-5) Topic: Reading Article: Developing pre-reading skills Additional content snack (1): Top 10 List of ways to squeeze reading with your child into your day Additional content snack (2): A short video in which children talk about their favorite books 3.2 SCOPE OF WORK As part of the RFP, a successful proposer must: Provide a timeline with identified key deliverables and budget for content development. Develop a plan for sourcing, creating/collecting content, as well as editing content with Children s Services Council staff as final editor. Develop a plan/timeline for communicating with Children s Services Council staff. Work with the web and app developer(s) to feed content to those platforms. Research/write/display content in a warm, engaging, nonjudgmental and non-threatening way that reflects Children s Services Council s Parenting Campaign s style (to be shared with chosen proposer). Take a local approach to national parenting issues (in some cases, interview local sources, gather local resources and information). Recommend the best platform for distributing content (a Vine video on how to change a diaper vs. an expert blog for the website on infant sleep safety).
Page 6 of 19 Supply properly licensed, appropriate photos, videos, graphics, etc. Develop a plan for vetting resources and ensuring accuracy of information. All content must be properly cited. Recommend how best to keep content fresh and up-to-date. Recognize Children s Services Council owns all content, including source files. 3.3 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS In order to ensure proposers possess the minimum qualifications and/or experience needed to support Children s Services Council s needs, applicants must meet the following requirements: Submit a portfolio at least 5 and no more than 10 content-related projects that use a variety of techniques, such as articles, blogs, short videos, graphics, etc. o As part of the portfolio, demonstrate experience creating a variety of content on a broad scale. o As part of the portfolio, demonstrate understanding of content needs for multiple social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Vine, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.). Complete all submission documents, signed where needed, as required by this RFP. Submit current resume or vitae for each individual who will be working with Children s Services Council. Participate in an interview process, upon request. Provide 3 professional references specifically related to assignments completed within the last 5 years. Abide by Florida Government in the Sunshine laws pertaining to open records and open meetings. SECTION 4: SELECTION PROCESS 4.1 EVALUATION OF QUALIFICATIONS A Review Committee will convene, review, and discuss all proposals submitted. The Review Committee will assign points throughout the evaluation process in accordance with the selection criteria outlined below. The Review Committee reserves the right to interview any or all Proposers and/or require a formal presentation with key people who will administer the contract and who will be assigned to work on the contract. This interview is to be based upon the written proposal and portfolio received from the Proposer. The Review Committee will make a recommendation to the Council for approval and award of contract(s) to the successful Proposer(s).
Page 7 of 19 4.2 SELECTION CRITERIA Proposer selection will be based upon the following criteria: Criteria Total Points Level of proposer s previous experience and references 10 Quality and style of submitted portfolio 30 Plan for creating, editing, vetting content as well as for communicating 40 consistently and clearly with CSC staff Timeline 10 Budget 10 Total Possible Points 100 After completion of the scoring process based on the review criteria, CSC will determine which, if any, Proposers meet the minimum requirements deemed necessary by CSC for interviews. Assuming that such minimum requirements have been met, CSC may require face-to-face interviews from one or more proposers. 4.3 NOTICE OF SELECTED PROPOSER(S) FOR INTERVIEW(S) CSC will post a list of selected proposer(s) for interview(s), if needed, no later than 11/25/2015 on the CSC website. 4.4 NOTICE OF SELECTED PROPOSER(S) FOR CONTRACT(S) DISCUSSIONS CSC will email selected proposer(s) for contract(s) discussion(s) after no later than 12/21/2015. Proposers who were interviewed, but not selected for negations, will be notified by email. THE CHILDREN S SERVICES COUNCIL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY AND ALL PROPOSALS OR INFORMALLY NEGOTIATE CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE FINAL AGREEMENT WITH A QUALIFIED PROPOSER.
Page 8 of 19 SECTION 5: RFP PROCESS All proposals are to be signed by an official/individual who is legally authorized to bind the Proposer to the proposed activity. 5.1 LIMITATIONS ON CONTACTING CSC PERSONNEL This Request for Proposals is issued by the Children s Services Council of Palm Beach County. The contact person listed below is the sole point of contact for this RFP: Allison Ronayne, Administrative Assistant, Communications Division Allison.ronayne@cscpbc.org All contact shall be by email only and all replies will be posted and available to the public on CSC s website at: www.cscpbc.org/openprop. 5.2 PROPOSERS CONFERENCE A Proposers Conference will be held at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on 10/21/2015 with CSC staff via GoToMeeting. To attend, please call in to 408-650-3123. Use access code: 380-438-653. While not mandatory, this meeting is highly recommended for Proposers interested in responding to the Public Awareness Campaign Content RFP (15-013). CSC staff will provide an overview of the entire project and answer proposers questions. 5.3 PROPOSER DISQUALIFICATION Proposers are prohibited from contacting CSC personnel or board members regarding this solicitation other than the person identified above. Any occurrence of a violation may result in the disqualification of the proposer. Failure to have performed any contractual obligations with CSC in a manner satisfactory to CSC will be sufficient cause for disqualification. To be disqualified as a proposer under this provision, the proposer must have: Previously failed to satisfactorily perform in a contract with CSC, been notified by CSC of unsatisfactory performance, and failed to correct the unsatisfactory performance to the satisfaction of CSC; or Had a contract terminated by CSC, by any other county or state agency, or by any Children s Services Council for cause. 5.4 INQUIRIES All inquiries requesting clarification regarding this RFP must be made in writing and emailed to the identified contact person by 10/22/2015. During the RFP period, Proposer s must not submit any forms of marketing or promotional materials that would raise the Proposer s profile or give the Proposer an advantage or benefit not enjoyed by other prospective proposers. Copies of responses to all inquiries that
Page 9 of 19 require clarifications and/or addenda to the RFP will be made available no later than 5 PM, 10/29/2015 on CSC s website. 5.5 ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSALS All responses must be received by CSC, via email, no later than 11/10/2015 by 2:00 PM. Sign (as required), scan and attach all required document(s) in PDF format to email and send to: BIDS@cscpbc.org Subject: RFP 15-013 No changes, modifications or additions to the responses submitted will be accepted by, or binding on CSC after the deadline for submissions has passed. ALL EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS ARE DATE AND TIME STAMPED BY CSC S EMAIL SERVER. BIDS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE DATE AND/OR TIME WILL BE REJECTED AND WILL NOT BE OPENED BY CSC. CSC reserves the right to reject any and all responses or to waive minor irregularities when doing so would be in the best interest of CSC. A minor irregularity is defined as a variation from the RFP terms and conditions that do not affect the price of the application, or do not give the proposer an advantage or benefit not enjoyed by other prospective proposers, or do not adversely impact the interest of CSC. 5.6 FINAL STEPS Be sure to follow the instructions in this RFP. Complete the checklist provided with this packet to ensure that you have completed and included all the required information. Make sure you obtain signatures, scan and submit your proposal via email by the deadline. 5.7 IMPORTANT REMINDERS All contact with CSC beginning with the effective date of publication of the RFP and ending on the date agreements are approved by the Council, shall be in writing and submitted to the CSC Contact listed in this document. Proposals will be accepted until 2:00 PM on the deadline date. Any Proposal received after this time and date will not be considered and will be returned unopened to the Proposer.
Page 10 of 19 SECTION 6: RFP SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMS All responses must be submitted on the forms included in this package - forms are available on CSC s website (www.cscpbc.org/openprop) for download. All responses are to be typewritten and signed by an official who is legally authorized to bind the Proposer to the proposed activity. IMPORTANT: All responses must be received via email no later than 2 PM per the deadline provided in the RFP. Proposers will receive an auto-generated confirmation email acknowledging receipt of the proposal. Do not respond to this email. This receipt does not verify that CSC has received a complete proposal that will be determined after opening all proposals at the time set forth in this RFP. CSC is not responsible for the email reputation of the Proposer s email account which may cause delays or undeliverable messages if your server has been blacklisted. To check your sender score, please utilize an email reputation service or use a service like http://www.senderbase.org/ to confirm that you have a good email reputation. CSC s email server has the capacity to accept large files but in some cases the Proposer s email server may delay sending email based on the size of attachments. Please ensure you allow ample time for transmission of files. CSC will not be responsible for emails received after the deadline. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered.
Page 11 of 19 RFP FORMS
Page 12 of 19 Submit this RFP response to: COVER PAGE BIDS@cscpbc.org Subject: RFP #15-013 RFP Title: Public Awareness Campaign Content Development RFP #: 15-013 NAME OF FIRM, ENTITY, ORGANIZATION: NAME OF CONTACT PERSON: TITLE: PHONE NUMBER: FAX NUMBER: EMAIL: MAILING ADDRESS: CITY: STATE: ZIP CODE: HEADQUARTERS ADDRESS (If different than mailing address): FEDERAL EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN): STATE OF FLORIDA BUSINESS LICENSE NUMBER (If Applicable): DO NOT include Social Security number with this application; CSC will obtain if/when contracted. ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE (Please check one): Corporation Partnership Proprietorship Joint Venture Other If Corporation, please provide the following: (A) Date of incorporation (B) State or Country of incorporation: I certify that this Proposal is made without prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any corporation, firm, or person submitting a proposal for the same materials, supplies, or equipment, and is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud. I agree to abide by all terms and conditions of this RFP and certify that I am authorized to sign this Proposal and that this Proposal is in compliance with all requirements of the Request for Proposals, including but not limited to, certification requirements. Authorized Signature (Manual) (Authorized Signature (Print or Type) Title (Print or Type) COMPLETE & PRINT FORMS; SIGN THE COVER PAGE; SCAN INTO PDF FORMAT AND EMAIL TO CSC BY 2 PM ON DUE DATE
Page 13 of 19 QUESTIONNAIRE The following Questionnaire shall be completed and submitted with the Request for Qualifications. Proposer guarantees the truth and accuracy of all statements and answers herein contained. 1. How many years have you/your organization/company been in business? 2. Please describe the last project of this nature that you have completed. 3. How do you plan to approach sourcing and gathering content, as well as vetting content for accuracy? Please submit a detailed plan that includes the editing process (with Children s Services Council as final editor). 4. How do you plan to communicate with Children s Services Council staff on project progress? Please submit a detailed plan that shows communication at regular intervals and in what form the communication will take place. 5. Explain your approach to working with other vendors selected in companion RFPs to fulfill the needs of the project. 6. How do you determine the best platform (social media, web, app, etc.) for content? 7. How would you approach gathering and displaying content of a sensitive nature (for example, teen pregnancy)? 8. What would you recommend for keeping content fresh and up-to-date (this may include extending the Content contract beyond the initial scope of work)?
Page 14 of 19 PROPOSER QUALIFICATIONS This section must contain all pertinent data related to the Proposer s experience that would substantiate their qualifications and capabilities to perform the services requested: a. Submit current resume or vitae for each individual who will be working with Children s Services Council. b. Describe the Proposer s experience in performing similar work as outlined in Section 3.1 Project Goals.
Page 15 of 19 REFERENCES List three clients, current or past that can serve as a reference on the development of similar work performed by the Proposer in the past five years. For each reference, please specify: a. Name, address, telephone number b. Project start date and duration c. Role in project d. Outcome of project Reference #1: Reference #2: Reference #3:
Page 16 of 19 FEE SCHEDULE PUPROSE: The purpose and intent of this RFP is to establish a term-contract for professional services, including all relevant fees such as hourly rate, travel expenditures, unit cost, etc. CSC intends to award contract(s) to the most responsive, responsible, qualified Proposer in response to this RFP, taking into consideration experience, staffing, time, equipment, materials, references and past performance. In the case of disputes in the award of contract(s), the decision by CSC shall be final and binding on both parties. WORK AUTHORIZATION: Statements of Work will be authorized by CSC s Chief Executive Officer or designee. No work shall commence without written authorization. INVOICES AND PAYMENT: Detailed reports will be required with submittal of invoices. OUTLINE FEE SCHEDULE/BUDGET Include all relevant fees associated with professional services (i.e. hourly rate, travel expenditures, unit cost, etc.)
Page 17 of 19 CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE The Proposer certifies that this price is made independently and free from collusion. Proposer shall disclose below, to the best of its knowledge, any CSC Council member, employee, or any spouse, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, or parent of any such officer or employee, who is an officer or director of, or has a material interest in, the Proposer s business. For purposes hereof, a person has a material interest if he or she directly or indirectly owns more than five percent (5%) of the total assets or capital stock of any business entity, or if he or she otherwise stands to personally gain if the contract is awarded to this vendor. Failure of a vendor to disclose any relationship described herein shall be reason for debarment. LIST NAME(S) AND RELATIONSHIPS (IF APPLICABLE) NAME RELATIONSHIPS (Print Name) (Print Name) REQUIRED SIGNATURE (Proposer s Signature)
Page 18 of 19 PROPOSAL CHECKLIST The following checklist outlines all required documents AND supplemental materials to be submitted with your Proposal. The omission of any one of these documents constitutes a fatal omission and disqualifies your Proposal from further review and consideration. PROPOSAL CHECKLIST COVER PAGE PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS INSTRUCTIONS Complete, sign and attach to email submission QUESTIONNAIRE (including answers to all 8 questions) PROPOSER QUALIFICATIONS (including current resume or vitae for each individual who will be working with Children s Services Council) REFERENCES (including 3 professional references related to assignments completed within the last 5 years) FEE SCHEDULE CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE PROJECT TIMELINE (including project milestones/key deliverables) PORTFOLIO (including 5-10 content-related projects) PROJECT PLAN (outlining approach to sourcing and gathering content, vetting content accuracy and editing) COMMUNICATION PLAN (including communicating with CSC at regular intervals and the form of the communication) Complete and attach to email submission Complete and attach to email submission Complete and attach to email submission Complete and attach to email submission Complete and attach to email submission Scan and attach to email submission Scan and attach to email or include live websites links Scan and attach to email submission Scan and attach to email submission
Page 19 of 19 ATTACHMENT 1 RFP Project Summary The Children s Services Council of Palm Beach County is embarking on a new public awareness campaign to provide parents, and those parenting, with engaging, reliable and local information to help them raise their children to be healthy, safe and strong. RFP 15-013: Public Awareness Campaign Content Development The goal of this RFP is to select an organization to create engaging, reliable, relevant and local (Palm Beach County/South Florida) content that can help Palm Beach County parents, and those parenting, raise their children to be healthy, safe and strong. Content will need to address the health, behavior, education and safety of children prenatally to 18. Content must also include parenting information that connects national trending issues with local resources. Content will be shared via a website, mobile app, numerous social media platforms and other media. Content Structure: We anticipate six issue areas health, behavior, education, safety, parenting and essential services. Each issue area may have up to 10 main topics or content areas (article, blog, Q&A, video, etc.) and each topic area should be broken down by the following eight age categories: Prenatal; Infant (0-1); Toddler (1-3); Preschool (3-5); Child (5-8); Tween (8-11); Young Teen (11-14); Older Teen (14-18). In addition to the main topics or content areas, we are seeking content snacks that expound on the issue, which would be shareable via social media. Snacks may be short Vine videos, Top 10 lists, infographics, animations, expert blogs, etc. RFP 15-014: Public Awareness Campaign Mobile App Development The goal of this RFP is to select an organization to design and develop a mobile app that displays and pushes local content to Palm Beach County parents, and those parenting, to help them raise their children to be healthy, safe and strong. The app should be easy to navigate, creative in design and complement CSC s new parenting website (please see separate RFP). Analytics should be captured to measure the app s success. RFP 15-015: Public Awareness Campaign Web Design The goal of this RFP is to select a vendor to design, develop, provide future technical support and potentially host its new parenting website. The website must have a user-friendly, password protected content management system that will serve as a backend and allow Children s Services Council to populate and maintain its content, including but not limited to all pages, graphics, multimedia elements, user accounts, administrator/user roles and responsibilities.