Re-advertisement Request for Technical and Financial Proposals Consultancy Services for Redesigning the COMESA Competition Commission Website
COMESA Competition Commission
Consultancy
Posted 2 years ago
RFP: CCC/RFP/06/02/2022
A. BACKGROUND
1. The COMESA Competition Commission (“the Commission”) is a regional body corporate established under Article 6 of the COMESA Competition Regulations 2004 (“the Regulations”) promulgated under Article 55 of the Treaty Establishing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. The Commission has the legal capacity required for the performance of its functions under the Regulations in the territory of each COMESA Member State.
2. The Commission commenced its operations on 14th January 2013 and is located in Lilongwe, Malawi. The Commission’s core mandate is to promote and encourage competition by preventing restrictive business practices and other restrictions that deter the efficient operation of markets, thereby enhancing the welfare of the consumers in the Common Market, and to protect consumers against offensive conduct by market actors. The main functions of the Commission are to monitor markets and investigate anti-competitive business practices, control mergers and other forms of acquisitions in the Common Market and mediate disputes between the Member States concerning anti-competitive conduct.
3. The Commission’s website (https://www.comesacompetition.org/) is one of the organization’s key communication and outreach tools which was developed in 2011 and redesigned in 2014 with WordPress platform. Currently, website which is in use is in need of updating and is hosted on an external server. The Commission intends to update and enhance the functionality of the current website through an improved mobile-responsive design, interactive functionality, and a more user-friendly Content Management System (CMS). In this regard, the Commission invites suitably qualified firms to submit financial and technical proposals in line with this RFP.
B. SCOPE OF WORK
4. The Commission seeks a complete website redesign of its site https://www.comesacompetition.org/. The redesign of the website includes the following:
4.1. Provide and describe the approach for redesigning the website and provide information on how the project would be phased and managed including timed deliverables.
4.2. Undertake a needs assessment of the Commission’s website redesign through consultation with the Commission.
4.3. Provide a Business Requirement Document (BRD) of the Commission’s website based on the needs assessment.
4.4. Propose the design of website to the Commission.
4.5. Design the website based on the needs assessment conducted.
4.6. Submit the proposed design of the website to the Commission for review and incorporate feedback from the Commission.
4.7. Conduct a test of the approved website in the presence of the Commission.
4.8. Address the comments from the Commission on the test of the website.
4.9. Train and present the features of the website to the Commission’s relevant personnel and Management.
4.10. Launch the website (go live) following the validation of the test site by the Commission
4.11. Provide a manual on the features and management of the website
5. The Commission shall evaluate the proposed website presented by the Bidder and determine whether it is in line with the objectives, requirements, expectations, and task details outlined under Section 3 and 4 below. The Commission shall retain the rights to the designed and developed website and any customization of plug-ins. The Bidder shall submit a report in each phase of the assignment which shall be validated after consultation with the Commission.
C. OBJECTIVE, REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTED OUTPUTS
Objective
6. The Commission is seeking to develop an enhanced, visually appealing website that is mobile-responsive, easy to navigate and provides the depth and breadth of current information that our stakeholders seek about our programs and services.
7. The requirements for the new site shall include but is not limited to the following:
7.1. Updated platform, functionality, navigation, and design
7.2. Mobile-responsive design
7.3. User-friendly Content Management System (CMS) with training for editors/users.
7.4. Advanced and fast “Search” functionality.
7.5. Website security and firewall
Desired Expectations
8. The website is expected to have the following functionality and tools:
8.1. Clean, clutter-free, modern design aligned with the Commission’s brand (which mainly consists of Commission’s logo, logo colours)
8.2. Clear, easy-to-use navigation
8.3. Mobile-responsive design optimized for all common internet browsers
8.4. Optimized design documents, videos, and images for fast loading
8.5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with ability to add search engine plug-in to administrative area
8.6. Robust, user-friendly CMS, which shall:
8.6.1. Be used by the Commission’s personnel to maintain and update the site, including access to all content for editing, uploading documents and creating new pages and links
8.6.2. Allow at least three editors from the Commission
8.6.3. Include functionality to schedule release of pages
8.6.4. Include functionality to broaden the Commission’s website to include a link to multiple portals e.g., staff email, e-filing
8.6.5. Allow news, Notices & Hearings features with searchable archives and functionality to schedule release of articles and reorder how they appear on the page
8.6.6. Accommodate varied content such as images, videos, spreadsheets, maps
8.6.7. Incorporate tools for tracking page/file updates and deletions
8.7. Integration of existing “CVS database” feed to display on website “Notify Me” functionality-subscribe for email updates and push out notifications
8.8. Store all submissions to a database created for automatic archiving which can be retrieved and analysed
8.9. Input to add internal “Search” functionality
8.10. Operate as a dynamic database drive website that generates analyses/briefs and display on actions the editors make on the page
8.11. Print-friendly feature on each page
8.12. Social media integration on each page to the Commission’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc
8.13. Photos-Easy to load and display; mobile-responsive photo gallery; Flickr integration
8.14. Ensure security using firewall web application
8.15. Load the content of the Commission rules and regulations on the website with advanced search functionality
8.16. Provide domain email for the Commission
8.17. Any other functions connected or incidental to the foregoing, such as allow users the ability to customise cookie setting. Include a page explaining how user information may be stored/used when they access the website.
D. TASK DETAILS
Phase One
9. Refine scope and technical specification
9.1. Define website functionality
Note: The Commission is currently using WordPress as the platform; however, the Commission will consider similar open-source tools that can easily manage website content, unlimited pages, and posts as a possible option with a well-supported and successful track record and high adoption rate with similar organizations.
Phase Two
9.2. Design
9.2.1. The Consultant will design two (2) concepts for homepage and up to two (2) internal/secondary pages to be reviewed by the Commission with up to three (3) revisions to the chosen design.
9.3. Development
9.3.1. The Consultant will use approved design and development platform (including the CMS) to build the site. The CMS will be presented, vetted and approved by the Commission. Consultant will install navigation, set up blank pages and transfer a sample of contents for the Commission to approve. Following the approval of the site plan, a training will be provided by the Consultant to a group of administrators on the use of the CMS. Consequently, the Consultant will migrate existing and new content to the new site according to an agreed-upon timeline.
9.4. Testing
9.4.1. The Consultant will conduct comprehensive quality assurance testing on multiple browsers and mobile devices to ensure that the new site is responsive, and all functionality is fully operational.
Phase Three
9.5. Review of Website and Training
9.5.1. The Consultant will navigate the Commission through the site and demonstrate the link, page set-up, homepage and internal/secondary page layouts, and a functionality review. Further, the Consultant will conduct a training for the identified web editors at the Commission. The Consultant will provide the Commission with a user manual and site architectures. The Consultant will set up initial administrator passwords and demonstrate management of administrators and editors.
9.6. Launch
9.6.1. Following a completion of up to two rounds of punch list items, not exceeding 20 items from the training and review period, the Consulant will set up website on a hosted server and coordinate any needed changes to Domain Name Service (DNS) entries and other technical requirements to make the new site live at https://www.comesacompetition.org/.
Phase Four
9.7. Warranty Period
9.7.1. The warranty period covers website for 3 months (90 days) from the final approval and launch of the website during the User Acceptance Testing phase. Any defects or other service issues resulting from the development process that are brought to Consultant’s attention during this period will be fixed without charge.
E. TIMELINES AND DELIVERABLES
10. The assignment under phase one to phase three will be expected to be conducted within 180 calendar days (Six months) from the date of signing of contract. The assignment is expected to have the following outputs which shall be delivered in three phases.
| Phase | Deliverable by the Consultant | Out Put Document | Tentative Timeline |
| Phase one | Conduct needs assessment to refine scope and technical specifications and define website functionalities.
Submit business requirement document with list of desired website functions with recommended plugins or system tools, initial site map, diagram showing all website functions, options for content management system |
Business Requirement Document
|
September to October 2022
|
| Phase Two | Submit website design concepts and final templates
Build website on content management system
Conduct quality assurance testing on different browsers and mobile devices, ensure accurate site functionality, fix any bugs discovered during testing |
Document of the phase two deliverables | November- December 2022
|
| Phase Three
|
Demonstrate the website and provide training
Coordinate migration of content from old site to new site by the Consultant
Submit website manual and site architecture.
Launch through setting up the website on hosted server, coordinating DNS entries and other technical requirements |
Business document of the Phase three activity | January to February 2023
|
11. The payment shall be remitted made upon satisfactory completion and acceptance of the deliverable by the Commission in each phase deliverables.
F. CONTENT AND FORMAT OF PROPOSAL
12. Bidder’s proposal format should emphasize clarity and brevity in describing an understanding of the project, approach to each task, schedule, budget, and personnel experience.
13. The submission must include the following information:
13.1. Letter of interest
13.2. Description of work required to complete the scope of work as described in above Paragraph B, C, and D, including how the project will be phased and managed
13.3. A schedule of deliverables, interim products, and reports
13.4. Company background including how long the company has been in business, brief description of the company’s size and organization
13.5. An outline of the roles of the principal, key support, and technical staff, including estimates of time, number of hours and cost breakdown by work task for each key participant in the project. Include a description of relevant experience of the key personnel who will work on the Commission’s project
13.6. List of at least three (3) relevant client references including contact name, organization name, phone, email, and at least three websites developed by the Consulant in last 5 years. These references should be able to verify the recent experience of the team leader involved in the proposal for this project.
G. PRICING
14. All prices MUST be indicated in Unites States Dollars.
15. There will be no price variation contract after signing of the contract except upon mutual written agreement between the Commission and the successful Consultant.
16. Financial Proposal: The Bidders should identify rates which should be valid for the entire length of the assignment in United States Dollars (USD). The financial proposal should have:
16.1. Description and costs
16.2. Additional optional information about consultant products and services not covered in other sections of the proposal such as awards, newsletters, documentation, etc
16.3. The financial proposal to be provided should be exclusive of any form of taxes or charges to be imposed by the Government of Malawi or the local government of the Consultant in COMESA Member States.
H. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
17. Bidders must provide both Technical and Financial proposals. The evaluation shall be based on the following attributes:
17.1. Quality of the proposed approach to the project
17.2. Experience and qualifications of key personnel who would work on project; minimum graduate, Computer Science or Engineering or relevant subjects that have qualified course in Web Design and database. Certificate and Diploma courses in web design and database is an added advantage
17.3. Portfolio of past work including at least three (3) projects of similar scope in the last 5 years
17.4. Recommendations letters from at least 3 organisations which it has provided services to on a similar project carried out within the last 5 years
17.5. Projected Costs in USD
17.6. Ability to work within deadlines and to develop mutually agreed dates for deliverables
18. The Technical proposal will be assigned a weight of 80% and the financial proposal will be weighted at 20%.
19. Individual consultants or consultancy firms are eligible to apply for the assignment.
19.1.1. The evaluation criteria shall be as follows
| Evaluation Criteria | Weight | Max Point |
| A) Technical Proposal |
80% |
80 |
| 1. Overall experience and Expertise of the organization/Firm | 15 | |
| 2. Expertise of Key personnel | 20 | |
| 3. Methodology proposed in the technical proposal | ||
| 3.1: Overall understanding of the assignment & proposed solution- architecture | 20 | |
| 3.2: Proposed work plan and timeline relevant to the assignment as per the scope and requirements | 20 | |
| 3.3: Handover of the total system procedure | 5 | |
| B) Financial Proposal | 20% | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
19.2. The proposal shall be considered unsuitable and shall be rejected at the technical stage if it does not respond to important aspects of the Terms of Reference and/or fails to achieve a minimum technical score of 70%.
I. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL – STANDARD BIDDING FORM
20. Bidders are advised to use the standard tender form below as a sample format and modify it to cover all relevant costs or charges.
21. There will be no price variation tender.
22. Bidders are advised to disclose any other relevant information on a separate sheet of paper.
J. AMENDMENT OF PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS
23. At any time prior to the deadline for submission of Bids, the Commission may, for any reason, modify the Proposal documents by issuing an addendum.
K. BID SUBMISSION
24. Bidders are advised to include in their bids the following standard tender forms attached to this tender document and marked Annexes 1 – 6:
24.1. Financial Proposal Form
24.2. Bid submission sheet;
24.3. Bidder’s reference;
24.4. Comments and suggestion on the Scope of Work;
24.5. Description of the methodology for performing the assignment; and
24.6. Proposed fees.
25. The proposals must be submitted with a covering letter containing a confirmation and a description of how you have understood the Terms of Reference for the assignment. The bidders should also confirm and/or provide copies of documents evidencing that:
25.1. they have the legal capacity to enter the contract (provide copy of certificate of incorporation);
25.2. they are not insolvent, in receivership, bankrupt or being wound up. Their business activities have not been suspended, and they are not the subject of legal proceedings for any of the foregoing (provide copies of six months bank statement or 3 months audited accounts);
25.3. they have fulfilled their obligations to pay taxes and social security contributions, and for that purpose, documentary evidence to be provided by the relevant authorities to demonstrate that the bidders have met their obligations (provide copy of valid and current tax compliance certificate);
25.4. That their servants, or agents have not offered any inducement to any employees of the Commission (complete confirmation to this effect).
26. Bidders who do not submit their proposal using the Annexes 1- 6 and respond to the required documents under paragraph 22 above shall be disqualified.
L. COST OF TENDER
27. The Bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the bid. The Commission will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct and outcome of the tender.
M. CANCELLATION OF THE TENDER
28. In the event of cancellation of the tender, bidders will be notified in writing of the cancellation by the Commission. Upon request, the Commission shall communicate to any bidder the grounds for its rejection. However, the Commission is not obliged to justify those grounds.
N. OWNERSHIP OF TENDERS
29. The Commission retains ownership of all tenders received under this Request for Proposals. Consequently, bidders have no right to have their tenders returned to them except in the case of any of the following circumstances:
29.1. Cancellation of the tender procedure
29.2. Rejection of tenders before the closing date; or
29.3. Late submission of a bid.
O. NEGOTIATION AND FINALIZATION
30. After the selection of the best bid and notification to the selected party, the Commission will commence negotiations with that party for purposes of concluding an agreement.
P. AWARD OF CONTRACT
31. Prior to expiration of the period of bid validity, the Procurement Committee will award the contract to the qualified Consultant whose proposal after being evaluated is the most responsive to the needs of the Commission and activity concerned.
32. The Commission reserves the right to wholly or partially reject or award the contract to any bidder and has no obligation to award this tender to the highest ranked bidder.
33. The Commission also reserves the right to annul the Bid process and reject all Bids at any time prior to award of contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected Bidder(s).
Q. SIGNING OF CONTRACT
34. Within 14 days of receipt of the contract the successful Bidder shall sign and date the contract and return it to the Commission.
R. CONFIDENTIALITY
35. All data and information received from the Commission for the purpose of this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference. All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these Terms of Reference are assigned to Commission. The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the expressed advance written authorization of the Commission
S. CORRUPT AND FRAUDULENT PRACTICES
36. The Commission requires that Bidders observe the highest standard of ethics during the procurement and executions of contracts.
37. For the purposes of this provision, COMESA defines the terms set forth below as follows:
37.1. “corrupt practice” means the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of anything of value to influence the action of a public official in the procurement process or in contract execution: and
37.2. “fraudulent practice” means a misrepresentation of facts in order to influence a procurement process or the execution of a contract to the detriment of the Commission and includes collusive practice among Bidders (prior to or after bid submission) designed to establish bid prices at artificial non-competitive levels and to deprive the Commissionof the benefits of free and open competition.
T. FORMAT AND SEALING OF BIDS
38. Bidders shall submit their proposals in one envelope containing two sealed envelopes by the closing date set forth below through courier services or hand delivery to the following address:
Chairperson – Procurement Committee
COMESA Competition Commission
5th Floor- Kang’ombe House
P.O. Box 30742
Lilongwe 3, Malawi
Attention: Procurement Unit
39. The outer envelope should be clearly marked at the top right-hand corner [TENDER REFERENCE AND TITLE].
40. The first internal sealed envelope shall be clearly marked “Technical Proposal” and must contain two (2) hard copies of the technical proposal with one marked ‘original’ and the other marked ‘copy’. The second internal envelope shall be marked “Financial Proposal” and must contain two hard copies of the financial proposal with one marked ‘original’ and the other marked ‘copy’. In the event of any discrepancy between the original and the copy, the original shall govern.
NOTE: If the envelopes are not sealed and marked as per the instructions in this clause, the Commission will not assume responsibility for the proposal’s misplacement or premature opening and may – at its discretion – reject the proposal.
U. CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS AND OPENING OF BIDS
41. The closing date for submission of proposals is 4 August 2022 at 12:00 hours MALAWI time. Proposals received by the Commission after the deadline for submission of proposals shall be rejected. There shall be no exception of this requirement.
42. Bidders or their authorized representatives are invited to attend the bid opening ceremony either physically or virtually on 4 August 2022 at 15:00 hours Malawi Time at the Commission Offices, 5th Floor Kang’ombe House, Lilongwe
43. Bidders who wish to attend the opening of the tender virtually; may request the log-in details from eabraham@comesa.int during submission of the proposal.
44. The Commission does not bind itself to accept any bid and reserves the right to accept the whole or part of any of the submitted bids.
V. TECHNICAL QUERIES
45. For any technical queries related to specifications of work or Terms of Reference, kindly contact Mr. Eyob Abraham, IT and Documentation Officer on the following email address: eabraham@comesa.int