Website Design work (RBGKEW/491)

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world-leading science institution with two beautiful botanic gardens. We receive funding from DEFRA, but are under pressure to deliver more income through fundraising and commercial products. Our website, kew.org, serves a number of different purposes, but is primarily a service for those who wish to visit the gardens. We launched a new website, built with Drupal 7, in 2017 but have identified significant usability issues, which we are now trying to resolve so that our website can support our organisational goals of increasing revenues and shifting perceptions of RBG Kew. Problem to Be Solved We are looking for external support to develop and implement designs to support the revised information architecture, starting with redesigining the core navigational elements (header/footer/menu) and our homepage and top three landing pages, followed by an agreed number of days of 'implementation support' based on a capped T&M basis, to iterate and improve designs in response to user testing over the following 6-9 months. Who Are the Users As a potential visitor to Kew Gardens, I need to find relevant information (such as price, opening times, main attractions) so that I can decide whether I want to visit. Early Market Engagement We worked with a usability agency to develop the IA, and have had high-level chats with them to get a ballpark figure of costs for this work. Work Already Done Together with a usability agency, we have done user research and testing to come up with the revised Information Architecture. We are currently testing it with our users and will revise those initial recommendations accordingly. Existing Team The supplier will be working with the Digital Experience team at RBG Kew (Product Manager, Delivery Manager, Content team) in consultation with internal stakeholders (Digital Steering Group) to delier designs ideas that meet user needs and support our business objectives. We use an external development agency that the supplier will need to work closely with during implementation. We are currently recruiting a UI Designer who we hope will work with the supplier to deliver this work and will pick up ongoing improvements once the designs have been implemented. Current Phase Live Work Location Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE Working Arrangments Although we are happy for the supplier to complete certain amount of work remotely, we would like them to collaborate with the team at Kew throughout. It is expected that stakeholder workshops take place on-site at Kew, and that the supplier spends time with the Digital Experience. We would like the supplier to regularly 'show the thing' demonstrating progress and inviting feedback at an early stage. We have access to Kew's visitors for user-testing and would expect some of the user-testing to be completed on site. The supplier will need to be available to work with our external development agency. Security Clearance N/A Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Proven experience of using user research/testing to design high quality digital products that balance user and business needs Experience in responsive design and taking a mobile-first approach Experience of developing navigation and page designs for a website built on Drupal 7, understanding the restrictions imposed by working within a coupled CMS environment Understanding of and experience in addressing issues of navigation and information hierarchy on a complex website serving a variety of different 'types' of user Proven experience of developing and implementing information architeture based on user feedback Experience designing user journeys for a commercially focused organisation, where optimising conversions is a priority Demonstrate a creative and innovative approach to designing solutions that meet user/business needs Take an agile approach to design, with a commitment to ongoing iteration and improvement Demonstrable experience in using user research and testing to define and validate user needs Experience in building high-fidelity prototypes and testing them with users Proven experience of taking an organisation's visual brand and translating it for digital platforms Experience of working alongside a 3rd party development agency to implement design ideas Nice to Haves Provide evidence of Experience working on large and compex information architecture roll-outs Provide evidence of Experience working with a leading visitor attraction and/or similar public body Provide evidence of Experience of guerrilla testing / a quick-turnaround test and learn approach to prototyping No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Approach and methodology used How does this approach meets user needs How does this approach meets our business goals Estimated timeframes for the work How have you identified risks and dependencies and offered approaches to manage them What is the Team structure Illustrate value for money Cultural Fit Criteria Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions Have a no-blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes Take responsibility for their work Share knowledge and experience with other team members Challenge the status quo Be comfortable representing the importance of user-centred design in front of key stakeholders who may be more concerned about commercial priorities Able to explain technical complexities to stakeholders in non-technical language Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Case study Work history Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 20% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range up to £60,000 exc. vat