CLASP Website Redesign & Maintenance Services
Introduction
CLASP improves the energy and environmental performance of the appliances & equipment we use every day, accelerating our transition to a more sustainable world.
CLASP serves at the epicenter of collaborative, ambitious efforts to mitigate climate change and in the global movement for clean energy access, through appliance energy efficiency and quality. We work hand-in-hand with governments, experts, industry, consumers, donor organizations and others to propel policies and markets toward the highest quality, lowest resource-intensive products possible. CLASP has worked in more than 100 countries since its inception in 1999, collaborating with key stakeholders to design and implement high-impact policies and programs that catalyze markets and protect consumers. CLASP is headquartered in Washington DC, with teams based in New Delhi, Nairobi, Jakarta and Brussels.
CLASP seeks to contract a qualified consultant (organization) to redesign and maintain over the long term its primary website: https://clasp.ngo/. The consultant should also have the capacity to support additional CLASP digital needs in the future.
Background
As a dynamic, international organization with programs, teams, and/or offices around the world, CLASP needs a site that can serve as a central voice for CLASP’s focused mission
Our new site should reflect the diversity of CLASP’s work and our organizational values, as well as highlight the high quality and integrity of CLASP programs and research, and high-impact team.
A redesigned CLASP website should achieve two aims: 1. Tell a persuasive story about our impactful work (the importance of appliances, equipment and lighting) in climate, clean energy access, and related / intersectional sectors; and 2. Facilitate knowledge-sharing and information exchange with dynamic tools.
A dynamic, inviting design should transition from high-level key messages to in-depth stories to the nitty gritty data and intelligence, and cater to our diverse audiences.
The current design of the CLASP website is outdated and the architecture no longer reflects the scope of our programmatic work and operational structure. Our team has largely increased its outputs in recent years: we are publishing more articles, publications, and re-envisioning and creating new data tools.
The CLASP website is our flagship and primary digital property. Other CLASP owned and managed sites:
Scope of Work
CLASP currently conceives of this project as discovery, re-design, maintenance, and special projects.
Discovery phase: The consultant will need to spend some time with the communications team and perhaps other stakeholders within the organization to think through current site issues, aspirations, and a plan to move forward.: In particular, how do we map organizational brand goals to audience needs to site real estate and structure? How can we improve the functions / tools across the site to maximize user engagement, as well as interaction with CLASP digital media platforms (e.g. social, videos, etc).
CLASP is currently undergoing a rebranding process, and the site will need to reflect that brand, leveraging photography, design elements, infographics and data visualization. Additionally, CLASP works at the nexus of several unique sectors – climate change mitigation and resilience, access to renewable energy, international development, with touchstones with water, health, and agriculture. The site will need to position CLASP as a part of and distinct within those sectors.
Redesign: Following the discovery phase, the Consultant will be responsible for re-design and development of the CLASP site. This will include developing and executing:
- a visual overhaul in line with our new brand, including both design and photography elements
- designing and implementing a revised information architecture
- Close collaboration with the sub-contractor selected to build a new Policy Hub tool, to ensure compatibility.
- A plan and timeline for new / improved tool development, e.g. an energy model.
- A plan and timeline for changes to web forms, widgets or other 3rd party elements
- A back end development timeline, co-created with CLASP
- A plan and timeline, co-created with CLASP, to develop new or revised content as needed.
- A plan, timeline, and clearly delineated responsibilities for UX testing and CLASP team training if needed.
Maintenance: The consultant should be able to commit to a one year minimum period of website maintenance, including frequent quality assurance checks after the re-design launch. CLASP websites currently run on Craft 3 and Google Cloud Platform, and we would prefer to stay on these platforms, unless the consultant has a compelling case for switching to other tools. We also use Hotjar and Google analytics. Basic components of our sites’ maintenance include:
- Craft CMS maintenance and support;
- Updates to website software and plugins;
- Periodic testing and optimization of website performance, user experience, and design; and
- Regular status calls with CLASP communications team and on-demand availability during working hours, when necessary.
- Complete a “re-visioning” or kick-off phase with relevant stakeholders (to be identified by CLASP) to develop a vision and comprehensive set of functional requirements;
- Produce a thorough, intuitive information architecture structure that lays the groundwork for visual design and front-end/back-end development through detailed user-flows, sitemaps, and wireframes;
- Produce 1-2 visual design concept options, based on the new CLASP brand, and incorporate CLASP revisions;
- Execute the re-design
- See deliverables above in “Re-design”;
- Develop front-end and back-end code that successfully executes on the approved visual design and information architecture;
- Execute quality assurance testing and user testing prior to launch, including cross-browser and OS testing; and
- Effectively collaborate with the CLASP team.
- A history of great story-telling, innovative design, and smart solutions for their clients;
- Experience working with the international, non-profit, energy, and/or development sectors;
- A history of designing information architecture arrangements to maximize web user experience;
- Experience working internationally or with international and/or multicultural organizations;
- Proven competency in developing data visualization and data tools;
- The firm will demonstrate strong project management skills, collaborating with the CLASP team for guidance and completing deliverables on schedule with high attention to detail and forethought;
- A collaborative work approach.
- Prefer to be located in Eastern Standard Time.
- Approach for implementation and management of the project: Understanding of the objectives of the assignment, the technical approach and the methodology you would adopt for managing and implementing the associated tasks.
- A summary of qualifications of key personnel that will be engaged in the assignment: Please describe the structure and composition of the core team, including a list of the key contacts and any relevant administrative support staff as needed.
- A summary of related experience: Consultant shall include in their proposal the organizational structure of the firm and relevant previous experience including the client organization’s name, client contact for reference, date of assignment, and description of the activities implemented.
- Detailed budget estimate (in US Dollars) outlining fees and expected expenses for the duration of the project. Detailed budget should include all direct and indirect cost estimates for executing the project. The cost evaluation will be an essential factor in determining the final contract award and will be evaluated for feasibility, completeness, and practicality.
Reporting and Deliverables
The Consultant will be required to provide a number of outputs over the course of the period of design and redevelopment of the CLASP website, including but not limited to:
Timeline
The project is expected to commence in July 2020 and to conclude by October 2020. The contract may be extended pending successful review and available funding.
Cost
Between $50,000 and $75,000.
Evaluation Criteria
The right project team will come from an innovative and strategic website development company or organization with extensive experience implementing information architecture solutions and web design. The firm will ideally have:
Functionality
Mobile and tablet compatibility are required for the site. The site shall also be compliant with section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Platform
CLASP is dedicated to the reduction of carbon emissions in all technology decisions. Solutions that have a demonstrable impact on reducing CLASP’s carbon footprint may be given favorable consideration. The site must provide maximum data portability.
Submittal
Consultants must register as a CLASP Implementing Partner when submitting a proposal. Interested parties should submit both a technical and financial proposal as electronic files.
The Technical Proposal must include the following elements:
- Approach for implementation and management of the project: Understanding of the objectives of the assignment, the technical approach and the methodology you would adopt for managing and implementing the associated tasks.
- A summary of qualifications of key personnel that will be engaged in the assignment: Please describe the structure and composition of the core team, including a list of the key contacts and any relevant administrative support staff as needed.
- A summary of related experience: Consultant shall include in their proposal the organizational structure of the firm and relevant previous experience including the client organization’s name, client contact for reference, date of assignment, and description of the activities implemented.
The Financial Proposal must include the following elements:
- Detailed budget estimate (in US Dollars) outlining fees and expected expenses for the duration of the project. Detailed budget should include all direct and indirect cost estimates for executing the project. The cost evaluation will be an essential factor in determining the final contract award and will be evaluated for feasibility, completeness, and practicality.
The file should be named as per the following example: “Contractor Name: CLASP Website Redesign” If necessary for the selection process, CLASP may request additional information from any applicant. The deadline for proposal submission is June 12, 2020. Proposals submitted directly to anyone at CLASP will not be accepted. All questions may be addressed to Joanie Coker at jcoker@clasp.ngo and Claudia Hernandez at chernandez@clasp.ngo. The last date for submission of questions related to this RFP is May 31, 2020. We request all inquiries be made by e-mail and not by phone.
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