Development & Support for Kew.org (RBGKEW/522)

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) is a world heritage site, a leading visitor attraction and a global scientific resource for plant and fungal knowledge. Our website kew.org, serves many different purposes and is integral in showcasing everything that Kew has to offer. From helping those who wish to visit the gardens plan their visit or find out about our exciting events to sharing information on Kew’s latest scientific projects. It is therefore extremely important that we have a website that meets our users’ needs alongside supporting our organisational goals of increasing revenues and shifting perceptions of RBG Kew. Problem to Be Solved We're looking for a development partner to work with to improve kew.org and, eventually, our wider digital estate. We want to implement updates to information architecture and page designs, along with iterative improvements to help us meet user needs and business objectives. This may involve updating our CMS - we currently use Drupal 7. The partner will also need to provide ongoing support/maintenance for the site, or work with us to identify a 3rd party that can provide these services. Who Are the Users As a potential visitor to Kew Gardens (or Wakehurst), I need to find out information about what's there, what's on and how much it costs, so I can decide if I want to visit. As a visitor to Kew Gardens (or Wakehurst), I need to find out where the nearest (toilet/cafe/attraction is), so that I can continue to enjoy my visit. As a botanist, I can find out about world-leading plant research happening at RBG Kew, so that I can inform my own research and identify potential institutional partnerships/collaborations. Early Market Engagement No early market engagement conducted at this stage. Work Already Done We are working with a UX Agency to develop an improved IA, navigation/menu structure and landing page designs for kew.org. We have an existing relationship with a development agency - the contract for which is coming to an end - we have worked with them to develop our current site (built with Drupal 7). Existing Team You'll be working with RBG Kew's Digital Experience team. You main contact would be with our Product Manager, Delivery Manager, UI Designer, Content Manager, Content Producers and the Head of Digital Experience. We have no in-house development resource for kew.org at present, although this may change over time. We work closely with RBG Kew's IT team, particularly on hosting and monitoring. We are currently working with a UX Agency - we would expect our chosen supplier to work alongside them to implement updates to our website architecture and design. Current Phase Live Work Location The majority of the work will take place at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London) but there may be a requirement to travel to our other garden in Wakehurst, Sussex. Working Arrangments We are moving towards more agile ways of working and would like to explore opportunities for co-location (could be part-time) with any potential partners as from past experience, we've found this to be the best way to ensure an effective working relationship. Security Clearance Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Proven evidence of Drupal 7 website development and maintenance, and development and maintenance experience with Drupal 8 and other content management systems – please give specifics. Provide experience of undertaking CMS upgrades, potentially to a CMS with a content API to allow for future uncoupled development Proven experience of taking an open source approach to development – no proprietary code unless there are extenuating circumstances (e.g. requirement to integrate with 3rd party system Experience of integrating websites with 3rd party systems for CRM, Email and Ecommerce – via API or web service Experience in developing responsive websites and able to identify key considerations for mobile/desktop users Evidence of taking an agile approach to development work (how do you approach the challenge of implementing agile when working in partnership with clients) Experience of implementing robust testing/automated testing and continuous integration Demonstrate a fast-paced approach to delivery, while still considering the bigger picture and delivering to a high standard Experience of creating flexible templates that support editorial processes and workflows while maintaining the integrity of the website design Experience of setting up taxonomy/tagging structures Demonstrate an understanding accessible web design (to WAI AA level, with code validating to W3C specifications). Confirm to the UK Government’s Cyber Essentials scheme to ‘PLUS’ level Evidence of a user research/data-driven approach to development, including use of prototyping and proof of concepts Experience of working alongside 3rd party suppliers to deliver successful projects (including usability and design agencies) Proven experience of delivering value for money by working in partnership with clients to scope and prioritise against business/user need. Demonstrate a proactive approach to maintenance and managing CMS updates (e.g. regular drupal security updates). Experience of search implementation – currently have a proprietary cloud-based search service build on Solr that would need to be managed or upgraded to an alternative search solution. Clear documentation in place- release process that supports critical updates while optimising uptime for website; clear development guidelines to allow for new team members to get up to speed quickly Ability to work with our IT team on hosting, monitoring, security and DNS, including the facilitation of regular vulnerability and penetration tests; mitigating and remediating security issues promptly once reported. Nice to Haves Proven experience working with a leading visitor attraction and/or similar public body Provide experience of changing to an uncoupled CMS environment Evidence of using A/B testing to optimise and improve Example of delivering innovative projects that make the most of emerging technologies Willingness to work with us to communicate our progress to stakeholders, using inclusive, non-technical language Independently accredited to ISO27001 No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 8 Proposal Criteria An outline of what you think are the top three functionality/development risks or issues with kew.org and how you would work with us to resolve them. 10 points – Technical Outline your approach to working closely with in-house designers, product managers and developers to deliver excellent products. 8 points – Technical An example of where you’ve worked alongside another supplier (e.g. usability or design agency) to deliver to product development to a client. 4 points – Technical A proposed roadmap for moving kew.org from Drupal 7 to 8 or another suitable open source CMS. 15 points - Technical Examples of your documentation process and how you balance this with taking an agile approach to development. 5 points - Technical An outline of your approach to testing (both functional and technical), which explains your approach to testing new features before they are released 5 points - Technical Your preferred approach to ongoing maintenance and support. Please include hours of service and outline how priority issues are dealt with. – Technical - 5 points Profiles of the team we would be dealing with on a day to day basis (please bring some of them to the presentation). – Technical - 4 points References (please provide 3)– Technical - 4 points Cultural Fit Criteria Why you want to work with us and what you think you would bring to the partnership. 3 points An outline of what you think our primary business objectives for kew.org (and associated websites) are, and how you would work with us to reach them. 4 points Explain how you would challenge us with new ideas and approaches, to move our digital transformation forwards. 3 points Your approach to working in partnership with your clients, particularly with collaboration, transparency and using an agile methodology (with examples) - 10 points Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Reference Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range up to £440,000 (£220,000 / year) - we're expecting this to cover regular development sprints plus ongoing support and maintenance.