INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTORAL SYSTEMS (IFES...

INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

(IFES)

Request for Proposal and Technical Specifications for Management of PakVoter

Website and Facebook Pages in Pakistan

RFP/15/135

4/27/2015

Website and Facebook Management Services RFP 15/135

IFES/Pakistan of 19

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................3

1.1 PURPOSE .........................................................................................................................................3 1.2 COVERAGE & PARTICIPATION .........................................................................................................3

2 GENERAL INFORMATION .................................................................................................................3

2.1 THE ORGANIZATION .......................................................................................................................3 2.2 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ....................................................................................................................3

3 PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS .................................................................................3

3.1 SERVICE PROVIDER’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE INQUIRY ...............................................................3 3.2 GOOD FAITH STATEMENT ...............................................................................................................4 3.3 COMMUNICATION ...........................................................................................................................4 3.4 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION ..................................................................................................................5 3.5 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION ...............................................................................................................5 3.6 SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION ......................................................................................................5

4 SCOPE OF WORK ..................................................................................................................................5

5 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS .......................................................................................................5

5.1 TIMELINE ........................................................................................................................................7 5.2 GEOGRAPHIC CODE ................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 5.3 LICENSE, CLEARANCE AND APPROVALS .........................................................................................7 5.4 PACKING ................................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 5.5 SHIPPING ................................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 5.6 SAMPLES ................................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

6 QUALIFICATIONS & REFERENCES.................................................................................................7

7 BUDGET & ESTIMATED PRICING....................................................................................................7

8 ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS ............................................................................................8

8.1 NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT ......................................................................................................8 8.2 COSTS .............................................................................................................................................8 8.3 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ..............................................................................................................8 8.4 SERVICE PROVIDER’S RESPONSES ...................................................................................................8 8.5 PARTIAL AWARDING .......................................................................................................................8 8.6 NO LIABILITY .................................................................................................................................8 8.7 ENTIRE RFP ....................................................................................................................................8

9 SERVICE PROVIDER CERTIFICATION ..........................................................................................9

SCHEDULE “A” ......................................................................................................................................... 10


IFES/Pakistan of 19

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to invite prospective service providers to submit a

proposal and technical specifications for the provision of management of the PakVoter website and

Facebook pages on a day to day basis including providing additional content and updating in Pakistan.

This RFP provides service providers with the relevant operational and performance requirements.

1.2 Coverage & Participation

IFES reserves the right not to enter into any contract, to add and/or delete elements, or to change

any element of the coverage and participation prior to the award without prior notification at any

time without any liability or obligation of any kind or amount.

2 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 The Organization

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is an independent, non-governmental

organization providing professional support to electoral democracy. IFES promotes democratic

stability by providing technical assistance and applying field-based research to the electoral cycle

worldwide to enhance citizen participation and strengthen civil societies, governance and

transparency.

2.2 Schedule of Events

The following tentative schedule will apply to this RFP, but it may change in accordance with the IFES’

needs or unforeseen circumstances. Changes will be communicated by e-mail to all bidders.

Issuance of RFP on 27 April 2015

Technical Questions/Inquiries Due by 4 May 2015

Answers/Addenda from IFES on 6 May 2015

RFP Closes on 26 May 2015

3 PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

3.1 Service Provider’s Understanding of the Inquiry

In responding to this RFP, the service provider accepts full responsibility to understand the RFP in its

entirety, and in detail, including making any inquiries to IFES as necessary to gain such understanding.

IFES reserves the right to disqualify any service provider who demonstrates less than such

understanding. Further, IFES reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, whether the service


IFES/Pakistan of 19

provider has demonstrated such understanding. Such disqualification shall be at no fault, cost, or

liability whatsoever to IFES.

3.2 Good Faith Statement

All information provided by IFES in this RFP is offered in good faith. Individual items are subject to

change at any time. IFES makes no certification that any item is without error. IFES is not responsible

or liable for any use of the information or for any claims asserted there from.

3.3 Communication

Verbal communication shall not be effective unless formally confirmed in writing by a specified

procurement official in charge of managing this RFP process. In no case shall verbal communication

govern over written communication.

3.3.1 Notice of Intention: Service providers’ interested in bidding to this RFP are encouraged

to notify IFES of their interest as soon as possible by filling and sending to the contact

below the Notice of Intention herewith attached as Schedule A. However, the Notice of

Intention is not mandatory and is does not legally bind the interested service providers.

Attention: Gabriella Nassif

Fax: +1 202 350 6701

E-mail: [email protected]

3.3.2 Service Providers’ Inquiries. Applicable terms and conditions herein shall govern

communications and inquiries between IFES and Service Providers as they relate to this

RFP. Inquiries, questions, and requests for clarification related to this RFP are to be

directed in writing to:


Fax: +1 202 350 6701


3.3.3 Formal Communications shall include, but are not limited to:

Questions concerning this RFP must be submitted in writing.

Errors and omissions in this RFP and enhancements. Service Providers shall

recommend to IFES any discrepancies, errors, or omissions that may exist within this

RFP. With respect to this RFP, Service Providers shall recommend to IFES any

enhancements, which might be in IFES best interests.

Inquiries about technical interpretations must be submitted in writing.

Addenda to this RFP.

mailto:[email protected]



IFES/Pakistan of 19

3.3.4 Addenda: IFES will make a good-faith effort to provide a written response to the

questions or request for clarification that requires addenda per the Schedule of Events in

2.2.

3.4 Proposal Submission

It is mandatory for bidders to send proposals in electronic copy via e-mail to both Beth Durbin at

[email protected] and Gabriella Nassif at [email protected] on or prior to the closing date and time shown

in the Schedule of Events in 2.2.

Do not submit hard copy proposals to the IFES Pakistan Office.

3.5 Criteria for Selection

The evaluation of each response to this RFP will be based on its demonstrated competence, compliance, format, and organization. The purpose of this RFP is to identify those suppliers that have the interest, capability, and financial strength to supply IFES with the product and/or service identified in the Scope of Work.

Evaluation Criteria:

1. Quality of Technical Proposal 50% 2. Financial Proposal 40% 3. Previous Experience/Past Performance 10%

Evaluation Criteria Grading will be on a 1 t0 10 scoring with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the best score for each evaluation factor.

3.6 Selection and Notification

Service Providers determined by IFES who possess the capacity to compete for this contract will be

selected to move into the negotiation phase of this process. Written notification will be sent to these

Service Providers via mail. Those Service Providers not selected for the negotiation phase will not be

notified.

4 SCOPE OF WORK

Pakvoter website and Social Media platforms

IFES Pakistan is implementing a project entitled “Support to Electoral Reforms in Pakistan” (SERP). Voter and Civic Education is one of the integral part of the SERP project. In pursuance of the voter and civic education objectives, IFES has established a web portal (www.pakvoter.org) to serve as a source for information about elections and electoral system in the country. Pakvoter caters to the information and education needs of a whole range of stakeholders like general voters community, political parties, development professionals, CSOs, media, parents, teachers etc. During last two years, Pakvoter has built a sizeable community on social media forums like Facebook and Twitter.



http://www.pakvoter.org/


IFES/Pakistan of 19

Building on earlier success, IFES is looking for the services of a capable organization to manage existing content; develop new content as well as handle the web portal and related social media platforms on day to day basis.

Interested organizations may visit the web portal at www.pakvoter.org and Pakvoter Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PakVoter. It should be noted that IFES will take responsibility of web hosting and basic design of the website.

Detailed Scope of Work

Contents may be developed in the form of text documents, photos, graphs, info-graphics, video clips, public polls, computer applications, documentaries, games, celebrity Interviews, testimonials, pictures, info-graphs, pictures, videos, animations, illustrations, blogs etc. Wherever possible the developed contents will be posted on the website as well as on social media platforms.

1. Review and refine contents of the website for any grammatical, spellings, formatting, factual

issues/errors and appropriateness of the contents and make them accessible especially as it

pertains to persons with disabilities;

2. Manage the website and social media platforms on day to day basis. Ensure synergy and rapid

turnaround on up-to-date relevant information, e.g. related to local government elections,

national assembly elections, electoral reforms and activities of the Election Commission of

Pakistan (see detailed list of day to day management services in Annex 1);

3. Develop new contents and update the existing contents on the website (details are given in Annex

2);

4. Propose and implement innovative strategies and methodologies to maximize the number of

visitors to the web site and ensure steady web traffic on Pakvoter website and social media

platforms. Activities may include but not limited to search engine optimization, marketing and

promotion of Pakvoter through print and electronic media, Facebook, and other websites.

Following are the minimum performance standards:

• Website – 400,000 additional visitors during project duration

• Facebook Page – an additional 200,000 likes during the performance year with an

engagement ratio of 50%

IFES feels pleased to offer special bonus for exceeding these minimum performance standards. The bonus may be as high as 3% of the contract amount. Precise details on bonus offering will be included in the final contract;

5. Implement on-ground activities for promotion of Pakvoter including:

a. Introductory sessions at educational institutions and universities

b. Introductory presentations at related events

c. Roundtable meetings to identify the information and education needs of stakeholders

including but not limited to political parties, youth, development professionals;

6. Coordinate with IFES for work planning, monitoring plan and progress reporting on regular basis

(details of related activities are listed in Annex 3).

http://www.facebook.com/PakVoter


IFES/Pakistan of 19

5 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

5.1 Timeline

Service Provider must submit timeline in the proposal showing the time required to produce and

consolidate the products. IFES expects service and commodities to be delivered on an on-going basis

over a 1 year period through May 30, 2016.

5.2 License, Clearance and Approvals

In the presence of any local legal requirement to produce or deliver the products and/or services

described in the Scope of work, the Service Provider will include the time needed to obtain possible,

licenses, clearances and/or approvals in the timeline.

6 QUALIFICATIONS & REFERENCES

The applying Service Provider must provide the following information in order for their proposal to be

considered:

1. A brief outline of the company and services offered, including:

Full legal name and address of the company

Full legal name of company’s President and / or Chief Executive Officer

Registration Documents

U.S. companies must indicate if they are a registered Small Business (Woman owned,

veteran-owned, Minority-owned, Disabled, Service Disabled Veteran-owned)

2. Evidence of successful completion of a project of a similar size and complexity.

3. General information about the bidder history and experience, including CVs of the key technical professionals and the content developer, who will be engaged with the project activities;

4. Detailed description of past experiences of providing similar services to international NGOs; 5. Names, addresses and telephone numbers of three business references, and approval to contact

listed references. 6. References: Contact information for no less than three references from projects similar in size,

application, and scope and a brief description of their implementation (including location and

year)

7 BUDGET & ESTIMATED PRICING

IFES requests bids for the above listed services on both a monthly basis and/or a per deliverable basis. A clear explanation of the pricing is required. The summary budget template is given in Annex 4 attached.

Pricing must be in Pakistan Rupees (PKR). Unit prices are required and in the case of discrepancies

between unit price and total price, the unit price will be taken as reference basis in the evaluation.

Technical Specifications must be shown per each item.


IFES/Pakistan of 19

8 ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

8.1 Non-Disclosure Agreement

IFES reserves the right to require the Service Provider to enter into a non-disclosure agreement.

8.2 Costs

The RFP does not obligate IFES to pay for any costs, of any kind whatsoever, which may be incurred

by a Service Provider or third parties, in connection with the Response. All Responses and supporting

documentation shall become the property of IFES, subject to claims of confidentiality in respect of the

Response and supporting documentation.

8.3 Intellectual Property

The Respondent should not use any intellectual property of IFES including, but not limited to, all logos,

registered trademarks, or trade names of IFES, at any time without the prior written approval of IFES,

as appropriate.

8.4 Service Provider’s Responses

All accepted Responses shall become the property of IFES and will not be returned.

8.5 Partial Awarding

IFES reserves the right to accept all or part of the quotation when awarding the purchase order.

8.6 No Liability

IFES reserve the right to accept or reject any quotation or stop the procurement process at any time,

without assigning any reason or liability.

IFES shall not be liable to any Service Provider, person, or entity for any losses, expenses, costs, claims,

or damages of any kind:

Arising out of, by reason of, or attributable to, the Service Provider responding to this RFP; or

As a result of the use of any information, error, or omission contained in this RFP document or

provided during the RFP process.

8.7 Entire RFP

This RFP. Annexes 1 through 4,, any addenda to it, and any attached schedules, constitute the entire

RFP.


IFES/Pakistan of 19

9 Service Provider Certification

This certification attests to the Service Provider’s awareness and agreement to the content of this RFP

and all accompanying calendar schedules and provisions contained herein.

The Service Provider must ensure that the following certificate is duly completed and correctly executed

by an authorized officer of your company.

This proposal is submitted in response to RFP/15/135 issued by IFES. The undersigned is a duly authorized

officer, hereby certifies that:

(Service Provider Name)

agrees to be bound by the content of this proposal and agrees to comply with the terms, conditions, and

provisions of the referenced RFP and any addenda thereto in the event of an award. Exceptions are to be

noted as stated in the RFP. The proposal shall remain in effect for a period of 90 calendar days.

The undersigned further certify that their firm (check one):

IS

IS NOT

currently debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment by any federal entity. The undersigned agree

to notify IFES of any change in this status, should one occur, until such time as an award has been made

under this procurement action.

Person[s] authorized to negotiate on behalf of this firm for purposes of this RFP are:

Name: Title:

Signature: Date:

Name: Title:

Signature: Date:

Signature of Authorized Officer:

Name: Title:

Signature: Date:


IFES/Pakistan of 19

SCHEDULE “A”

NOTICE OF INTENTION

RFP/15/135

From:

Name: [INSERT COMPANY NAME]

Contact: [INSERT NAME OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE]

Phone: [INSERT TELEPHONE NO.]

Fax: [INSERT FAX NO.]

Email: [INSERT E-MAIL]

Please state your intention with regard to the subject Request for Proposal by selecting one of the

following:

[ ] Intends to respond to IFES Request for Proposal

[ ] Does not intend to respond to IFES Request for Proposal

TO:

International Foundation for Electoral Systems


Fax: +1 202 350 6701




IFES/Pakistan of 19

Annex 1 - Day to day management of website and social media platforms

Monitor and analyze issues pertaining to the website structure and design and share findings and

recommendations with IFES in a timely manner for improvements thereof. This will include but

not limited to:

Home page continuous refinement (shuffling the most popular contents and

highlighting the relevant ones according to the situation)

Website structure – adding and/or removing new sections to the website

Website software updates

Web site basic modules and other efficiency issues

Making all contents – word searchable

Regularly run web site efficiency diagnostics;

Daily upload of the electoral news clipping on the website – as provided by IFES;

Administer the user accounts for writers, moderators and allow/deny other site users registered;

Analyze the flow of traffic/visitors and implement strategies to maximize the online community

and flow of visitors;

Regularly update and review articles, blog posts, discussions forums, visitors and comments

including social media pages and share detailed information and recommendation with IFES;

Manage Blog postings on the website;

Cross posting of the blogs and other contents on media and other related websites;

Facilitate and monitor postings by the followers and visitors on Pakvoter website and social media accounts for appropriateness in line with criterion developed in consultation with IFES;

Maintain distribution lists e.g. newsletter subscribers, CSOs, related govt. officials, people

interested in getting updates about Pakvoter and ensure targeted Pakvoter-contents

dissemination;

Monitor and optimize Pakvoter website search engine;

Implement strategies for dissemination of contents to a range of target groups i.e. general voters, women, youth, persons with disabilities, minorities etc;

Regularly coordinate with organizations, as data sources for Pakvoter, for obtaining and sharing

related contents. The contents may cover elections results, monitoring, observation and analysis

reports, voter education and awareness materials, studies, researches or any other

documents/publications/applications related to the overall purpose and intent of Pakvoter;

Integrate the social media contents with electronic and print media i.e. news editorial, blog and

article coverage, discussion in the talk shows etc;

Arrange for live social media/website coverage of IFES events as communicated by IFES;

Develop and post contents on regular basis, i.e. daily/weekly, on the social media platforms for

promotion and marketing of the Pakvoter website contents;

Modify and post materials on other social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn; integrate all such accounts with Pakvoter website;

Arrange for activities to encourage users (organizations/individuals) to develop contents for Pakvoter. Topics/themes for this will be finalized in consultation with IFES. All submissions will be


IFES/Pakistan of 19

evaluated objectively. The winners will be featured on Pakvoter home page. The activities will include:

Essay competition

Blog writing

Photo contest

Posters

Videos


IFES/Pakistan of 19

Annex 2 – Content Development and Update Needs

All contents should consider education and information needs of the political parties (leaders, party workers, and political activists), voter and civic education organizations, civil society and public at large. Wherever possible the contents will be used on the web site as well as social media platforms. Contents proposed for use exclusively on a specific platform shall be listed separately. All contents should be inclusive i.e. featuring men, women, minorities, persons with disabilities etc.

The content of website should be updated through development of relevant and well representative images, pictures, and illustrations. Appropriate images are also needed in contents for social media sites.

Applicants should provide a list of themes/topics to be covered through content development activities; however the content details will be finalized in consultation with IFES.

Major content on the website which need update:

S# Content/Section Update Frequency

1 Democracy update Monthly

2 Know your political IQ Monthly

3 One minute Civics Monthly

4 Newsletter Monthly

5 FAQ Section Monthly

6 Constituency Google Map 2 times

7 Election Timeline 2 times

8 The Legal Framework for elections Quarterly

9 Political Parties Quarterly

10 Fact Sheets Quarterly

11 Election History Once

12 Election Results 4 times

13 Senate Election Results Once

New content development:

Local Government Elections – event based as and when local government elections are held in KPK, Punjab, Sindh, Cantonment areas and ICT, the contents of the materials will


IFES/Pakistan of 19

include information about legal framework, main features of the structure and design of the local government system, where and how to cast vote. The contents for each document will however be finalized in consultation with IFES;

Blogs on current political/electoral situation – 2 blogs per week (Minimum 500 words);

Develop a new section on the website for marginalized voter groups, providing key information highlighting the problems they face, strategies and information to facilitate resolving such problems and enabling them to take active part in the electoral process. Following are the target groups;

Women Minorities Youth Persons with Disabilities;

Develop a new section on Pakvoter website “Resources for Political Parties”. The section will include training and information need analysis of the political parties, listing of the key information and guidance material needs and developing and posting such materials in consultation with IFES;

Develop contents primarily for use on Pakvoter Facebook page including: Small videos like Public Service Messages, Celebrity Testimonials/Interviews Info-graphics Pictures Illustrations Opinion polls, Trivia Based Competitions Documentaries News feeds/posts related to selected national and international days like

International Day of Democracy, International Woman’s Day, National Woman’s Day, International Day of Persons with Disabilities etc. – the list of days to be finalized in consultation with IFES.

Content Sharing from other websites

Coordination with other organizations developing the matching contents should be done to obtain at least five materials per month for posting on the website. The contents may include:

Latest political and electoral news;

Current Political/Electoral Developments e.g. Electoral reforms debates, reforms committee proceedings, decisions taken by election tribunals, ECP decisions and proceedings etc.;

Electoral Surveys and Opinion Polls;

Selected International and national days – to be finalized in consultation with IFES


IFES/Pakistan of 19

Annex 3 – Coordination, Work planning, Monitoring and Reporting

Develop a detailed work plan with appropriate timelines which shall include monthly project

deliverables including regular progress reports

Provide regular narrative progress reports and operational updates in the format, content and frequency determined by IFES. progress reporting:

1. Bi-weekly progress updates

2. Quarterly progress reports

3. End of project report, including success stories, if any

Meet with IFES staff on a periodic basis to discuss and review project performance and implementation as the need arises

Develop and implement a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan that tracks progress on activities

and associated deliverables, identifies challenges and development of remedies to address

performance gaps


IFES/Pakistan of 19

Annex 4 - Deliverable based budget template

The Deliverables will be listed for each line item given in the main text of this scope of work. Add as many line items as deem necessary for explanation of each major deliverable category.

Deliverables Unit Description Unit Price

Number of Units

Frequency Amount

1 Review and refine contents of the website for any grammatical, spellings, formatting, factual issues/errors and appropriateness of the contents and make them accessible especially as it pertains to persons with disabilities

Refined/updated Website contents

1 1

2 Manage the website and social media platforms on day to day basis

Monthly Progress Report

1 12

3 Content development and update 1

Democracy update

Updated website contents

1 12

Know your political IQ 1 12

One minute Civics 1 12

Newsletter 12 1

FAQ Section 1 12

Constituency Google Map 1 12

Election Timeline 1 4


IFES/Pakistan of 19

The Legal Framework for elections 1 4

Political Parties 1 4

Fact Sheets 1 4

Election History 1 1

Election Results 1 4

Senate Election Results 1 1

New content development

Local Government Elections – event based as and when local government elections are held in KPK, Punjab, Sindh, Cantonment areas and ICT.

Documents 5 1

Blogs on current political/electoral situation – 2 blogs per week (Minimum 500 words)

Blogs 104 1

A new section on the website for Women, Minorities, Youth, Persons with Disabilities

Documents 12 1

A new section for Political Parties Documents 10

Develop contents primarily for use on pakvoter facebook page

Small videos like Public Service Messages, Celebrity Testimonials/Interviews (2-3 minutes)

NA 52 1


IFES/Pakistan of 19

Info-graphics NA 48 1

Pictures NA 100 1

Illustrations NA 48 1

Opinion polls, Trivia Based Competitions NA 24 1

Documentaries 5-10 minutes NA 6 1

Posts related to selected national and international days 100 1

Coordination with other organizations developing the matching contents should be done to obtain at least five materials per month for posting on the website.

Documents 5 12

4 Promotion (visitors and followers)

Promotion of the Pakvoter website during project duration 1 1

Promotion of the Facebook Page during project duration 1 1

5 On-ground activities for promotion of Pakvoter

Introductory sessions at educational institutions and universities Event Reports 24 1

Introductory presentations at related events etc. Event Reports 24 1

Roundtable meetings Meetings/Events 10 1

6 Coordination Work Planning and Reporting

Detailed work plan

Work plan 1 1


IFES/Pakistan of 19

Bi-weekly progress updates

Progress Reports 2 12

Quarterly progress reports

Progress Reports 3 1

End of project report Final Progress

Report 1 1

Project Monitoring Plan and Updates PMP and Progress

Reports 1 12

Sub-Total

Applicable Taxes (GST 17%)

GRAND TOTAL

PLEASE NOTE: IFES requests bids for the above listed services on both a monthly basis and/or a per deliverable basis. A clear explanation of the pricing is

required.

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