Website Design, Build and Hosting for DfE NDPB Property Company

Tender description

Summary of the work We require a commercial website to launch a new company seeking land for schools for an early September – a holding page may be developed in the interim with full functionality later. We are looking for a simple solution and would be happy with a smart template design Expected Contract Length 1-2 months for design and builds, ongoing hosting reviewed annually. Latest start date We want a supplier to start asap Why the Work is Being Done LocatED will be a government-owned property company managed by the Department for Education. The aim is to acquire new property and seek out new development opportunities to expand school estate. This is to enable us to meet the government’s manifesto commitment to deliver 270,000 new school places. We need a company website which our marketing and communications can drive traffic towards. The website needs to help commercial and private sellers present land or building opportunities that meets the needs and requirements for new schools. A quality initial product ready for public launch, must be delivered rapidly - ideally by September. Problem to Be Solved LocatED will be a brand new NDPB the website will cement its identity, provide hosting for governance, contact and recruitment information. Its primary focus will be to drive new business, reassure companies that the new body is a credible entity and provide information on the scope of the company. The aim is to set up a simple, accessible web presence to launch the new brand. The site should be designed with the users in mind – providing crucial information to drive business, and fulfil governance requirements and reduce day to day queries. It will be a non GOV.UK presence. Who Are the Users Building/estate agency/investment funds - To know about the new emerging organisation; see that its a credible business; access contact detail; understand the remit of the organisation; access property requirements; understand rules of investment and engagement; submit sites for sale that may be of interest. Prospective employee or graduate To see the positions available and how to apply; be assured that this is a world class company; know the organisation can provide the experience needed General Public To know the remit of the organisation; see reports; see procurement frameworks; see conflict of interest information; be assured on management of public money Existing Team You will be working with the Education Funding Agency team leading on LocatED’s development and maintenance phase. You may also be liaising with our property consultants and other internal staff members or IT group colleagues. We have also been working with Design102 who will be able to provide design and branding solutions Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • be experienced in public sector website design • be able to deliver a product in September Nice to Haves provide evidence of professinal work to the required standard Work Location We will expect you to work primarily from your office. For project initiation, testing and progress meetings we could come to you or colleagues can come to the DfE office - Sanctuary Buildings, Westminster, London, SW1P 3BT Working Arrangments We are fairly flexible, however would like some initial face to face time for workshops and mapping what the site will look like, exploring potential solutions. We will work collaboratively providing content - the design and build can be managed with phone meetings for progress updates. Additional T&Cs Due to a very tight time constraint we would like to see proposal with costing's, working method and any relevant examples of previous work within 48 hours of the closing date. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • approach and methodology • how the approach or solution meets user needs • estimated timeframes for the work • value for money Cultural Fit Criteria • work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers • be transparent and collaborative when making decisions • be able to work with clients with low technical expertise • understand commercial standards Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 45% Cultural fit 20% Price 35% Questions from Suppliers 1. Can a budget range be specified? Thanks. We didn't originally set a budget range as we wanted to get as full as range of quotes as possible - excluding hosting we will consider proposals to develop below £20k 2. You stated that the website needs to be delivered by September; how fixed are the time frames? We can be flexible in that a holding page could be delivered initially with full content going live later - We would like the full website no later than w/c 17 October so would ideally need a team able to deliver to that timeframe 3. Hello. You have set the following mandatory requirement "be experienced in public sector website design". Many private sector sites are more complex than those in the public sector. Can you remove this mandatory requirement or make it nice to have? We chose that requirement because we want the security of a provider that will understand the particular restrictions of public sector design - if when the procurement closes bids are not competitive enough/we do not receive suitable bids we will rerun the exercise 4. We are new to the Digital Marketplace with no experience of designing websites for the public sector. One of your required essential skills therefore precludes us. Is it possible the change this to a nice to have skill so that we have a chance to bring our breadth of experience to bear on your project? please see earlier response 5. Estimated timeframes – you mention 1-2 months in the detail provided, is there a specific end deadline? Is this for the holding page or full website? please see question 2 6. Is there a project budget? please see question 1 7. Meetings - you mention meetings in London, once kick-off meetings have been completed would you be happy to conduct further meetings via conference calls/shared desktop facilities Many thanks for your question - yes that sounds fine 8. System requirements – do you have a framework or platform that this website needs to fit into e.g. a CMS that the team are familiar with, or which makes use of particular technologies e.g. PHP or .NET We don't have a framework or platform that the website must conform to - we would be interested to see details in supplier proposals with any pros and cons of different options. 9. What is the budget range for this project? please see question 1 10. What kind of budget do you have for this project? please see question 1 11. Hello, It would be great to understand what the budget is for this website please? Kind regards please see question 1 12. Will you be issuing any further information on the project or will our pricing and methodology need to be based on just the information given here? Please base quotes and methodology on information provided. 13. Is the new system required to support the acquisition of land or is it more geared to the presentation of land available for Schools? The new website should be focussed on ensuring information on the new body is accessible, to clarify process and procedures to contact the organisation to suggest sites, to clearly set out how we are governed, how we will work and transact etc. It is to be aimed primarily at commercial partners for the acquisition of land rather than at open schools whose contacts will remain local authorities and the Department for Education centrally.