Scottish Information Commissioner Website Accessibility Audit

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done We are seeking an accessibility audit of our website – including embedded features such as the Appeal Portal and Statistics and Decisions databases – resulting in a detailed report that clearly identifies the work needed to meet the requirements of the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. We must comply with WCAG 2.1 AA standards and publish an accessibility statement by 23rd September 2020, therefore this audit should be completed and the final report produced no later than Friday 20th March 2020, to give us sufficient time to make the required improvements to our website identified by the audit. A re-audit may be required in future but is not included in this scope. Problem to Be Solved Our website currently doesn’t meet the required standard and is therefore not fully accessible to users with disabilities such as visual impairment. As the organisation responsible for upholding the public’s right of access to information in Scotland, it is vital that the advice and guidance published on our website is accessible to all. We require an audit of our website to be carried out to identify the areas of non-compliance and the improvements we need to make in order to meet our statutory obligations, resulting in a report that can be understood and acted upon by technical and non-technical staff. Who Are the Users As a member of the public, I need to know what my rights are and how to use them so I can find or request information from a public authority about the services it provides, the decisions it takes and the money it spends. I also need to access publications and statistics to understand how well my rights are being upheld. As a public authority employee, I need to find advice about how to handle information requests and what we should proactively publish, to ensure we comply with our statutory duties under freedom of information legislation. Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done We commissioned an accessibility audit of our website in 2011, to identify the main issues to address, and we carried out some improvements in response. We continue to fix minor issues on an ad-hoc basis as we find them and staff are aware of how to create more accessible content. Existing Team Our Policy & Information team (5 staff), members of the Senior Management and Corporate Services Teams, and potentially our external website provider. Current Phase Live Work Location We are based in St Andrews. The work can be done remotely but we would prefer to hold at least 1 face-to-face meeting, to discuss the audit’s findings and ensure we have a clear understanding of the follow-up work required. Working Arrangments Initial briefing meeting (video conference / conference call), regular updates on progress via telephone call, and a final meeting (preferably face-to-face) to discuss the audit’s findings. Security Clearance Scottish Information Commissioner staff are required to have Security Check (SC) level clearance; however, we don’t anticipate that this will be required for this work. Any information requiring clearance for access will be removed from the scope of the audit. Additional T&Cs We require the successful supplier to enter into a contract based on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s standard terms and conditions for the provision of services and these include terms relating to security, confidentiality, freedom of information, data protection, assigning the contract and the contract being subject to the Scottish law jurisdiction. Depending on the service being provided, we will also require the inclusion of specific data protection terms and conditions. A copy of the proposed terms and conditions is available on request. Skills & Experience Experience of delivering accessibility audits against the WCAG 2.1 AA standard Experience of working with and reporting to technical and non-technical staff Evidence of understanding the Equality Act 2010 in relation to websites, and the EU Accessibility Directive Experience of assessing websites for usability through assistive technology and software Nice to Haves Experience of working with regulatory bodies Experience of working with Scottish public authorities No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria How the project outputs meet our needs and goals Approach and methodology Relevant experience Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria Work as a team with our organisation Share knowledge with other team members Can work with clients with low technical expertise Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 10% Price 40% Questions from Suppliers Budget range we anticipate that the cost of the work will be in the range £3,500-£5,000, the latter figure being our maximum budget allowance.