Washington State Department of Agriculture LETTER TO REQUEST BIDS
Update of the From the Heart of Washington Website
16 May 2008
Dear Applicant: The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) From the Heart of Washington (HOW) campaign is soliciting proposals to upgrade and update the HOW website (www.heartofwashington.com).
Purpose of From the Heart of Washington: WSDA’s From the Heart of Washington campaign is intended to raise the awareness of the state’s agriculture industry and educate the public about the industry and its role in the state’s economy and quality of life. HOW also encourages consumers to look for and purchase Washington grown and produced foods. HOW conducts a statewide campaign, primarily on radio and television, working closely with local organizations that promote the purchase of locally grown foods. The primary themes of this campaign are: Washington is a unique agricultural region with a vast variety of crops and diversity of farms Washington agriculture is comprised of family farms with strong commitments to the sustaining the land and producing safe, quality foods. Agriculture is important to the economy and quality of life in Washington To see a recent video produced by HOW that captures the feel of this campaign, go to http://agr.wa.gov/AboutWSDA/docs/WSDA-farms2table_128kwmv
Project Description: The HOW website is a clearinghouse for conveying information about Washington agriculture. HOW’s advertising directs people to the website for information about the program, about our crops and growing areas, and links to partner organizations. This site was developed in 2002 and received minor updating in 2006. It is housed on the Washington Fruit Commission’s servers in Yakima. The overall appearance of the web pages is still appropriate but is static and does not engage the viewer. Many pages are no longer pertinent and some require updating of the information. Maintenance of the pages has been limited because they cannot be updated remotely by WSDA staff. The purpose of this project is to update the software and programming of the HOW website and to update the design to make it more effective and allow WSDA staff to remotely update the pages.
The project will: Examine the existing site and underlying code and software to identify and implement improvements and upgrades that will increase the effectiveness of the website and create a foundation for future improvements. Redesign, as necessary, the existing pages to simplify them and make them more visually compelling, and easier to navigate. Design the site to be remotely accessible by WSDA staff to update pages easily and to provide statistics to WSDA on usage. The period of performance of any contract awarded as a result of this Letter to Request Bids will begin upon signing on or around June 2, 2008 and be in force through June 30, 2008. Depending upon the performance of the contractor and the availability of funds, WSDA may extend this contract by amendment beyond June 30, 2008 to include development of new pages and applications. Any such amendment shall be at the sole discretion of WSDA. Proposal Content: Companies interested in contracting to perform this work (contractors) must submit a brief proposal to WSDA. This proposal should demonstrate the contractor’s understanding of the objectives of this project and provide creative solutions to attaining these objectives. The proposal should include: A description of how the contractor will update the existing HOW website within the $10,000 budget and identify the recommended changes. o A timeline showing how the project will be completed by the June 30, 2008 deadline. o Identify additions or other changes that would be recommended to improve the effectiveness, ease of use and visual appearance of the site. o Costs or fees to complete contract requirements Demonstration of successful experience managing similar projects and delivering projects on schedule. o A description of the contractors qualifications/experience on comparable projects o Examples of similar websites that the contractor has designed and references from past clients who had projects of similar scope and nature Reference: Names, addresses and telephone numbers of two business references.
Contractor Qualifications: The bidding is open to individuals or organizations that meet the following minimum criteria: Bidder must have either an EIN, UBI or social security number for contracting. Bidder must have experience reflective of the description above.
Project Deliverables: A fully functional and updated webpage posted on the current server. The final deliverable will be defined based on recommendations of the contractor upon evaluating the current site and negotiations with WSDA.
Project Timeline: Activity Issue Request for Qualifications and Quotations Proposals due Evaluate proposals, select contractor, negotiate and sign contract. Begin contract work Meet with HOW staff to finalize work plan Meet with HOW staff to review work Post final web pages Date: 2008 May 16 12:00 noon, May 27 May 27 to 30 June 2 June 2 - 6 June 23-27 June 30
WSDA reserves the right to revise the above schedule and to conduct oral interviews of the candidates as necessary. Proposal Submission: All bids shall be submitted electronically. Complete proposals must be received by WSDA no later than 12:00 noon PDT Tuesday, May 27, 2008. LATE BIDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AND WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION. The complete bids shall be sent to: ehurlburt@agr.wa.gov. WSDA assumes no responsibility for delays caused by any delivery service or for problems with Bidder’s email. Proposals will be evaluated by WSDA staff based on the response to the information requested above. Bidders who do not meet these minimum qualifications shall be deemed to be nonresponsive and will not be evaluated and no score will be assigned. The following weights will be assigned for bid evaluation purposes: Criteria Experience/Staff Qualifications Creative Solutions References Cost TOTAL Max. Score 40 points 40 points 10 points 10 points 100 points
The WSDA reserves the right at its sole discretion to reject any or all bids prior to the execution of a contract. This Letter to Request Bids does not obligate WSDA to contract for the services specified herein. The final selection, if any, will be the bid that in the opinion of WSDA best meets the requirements set forth in the Letter to Request Bids and is in the best interest of the state of Washington. The WSDA is not obligated to select the lowest price bid. The WSDA shall not be responsible for any costs associated with a bidder’s preparation of a bid in response to this Letter to Request Bids. In submitting a bid in response to this Letter to Request Bids, the bidder agrees to accept the terms set forth in this Letter to Request Bids. Any requests for information about this project are to be directed to:
Name Address City, State, Zip Code Phone Number Fax Number E-Mail Address
Eric F. Hurlburt PO Box 42560 Olympia, WA 98504-2560 360-902-1933 360-902-2089 EHurlburt@agr.wa.gov
Thank you for considering this solicitation.