PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST
The Enterprise Center is seeking proposals for creation of a website to support neighbors’ access to localized resources in the historic Orchard Knob community. After evaluation, The Enterprise Center will identify the proposal that appears to connect most closely with our vision and will enter into discussions with the proposer with the goal of reaching agreement on a final scope of work, timeline, and cost. If the discussions with that proposer are not successful, The Enterprise Center may, at its sole discretion, enter into discussions with another proposer apparently capable of fulfilling the requirement or may reject all proposals.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
TVA launched the Connected Communities Pilot in 2021, and the Orchard Knob Collaborative received one of the inaugural grants. The Orchard Knob Collaborative, a multi-stakeholder partnership including Parkridge Hospital, the Orchard Knob Neighborhood Association, EPB and non-profits like Habitat for Humanity, green|spaces and The Enterprise Center, has a vision for a vibrant and thriving Orchard Knob community that is healthy, safe, and economically viable. Together, we are determined to improve the health and well being of the approximately 1,000 neighborhood residents by addressing the social determinants of health. As part of this effort, the Collaborative intends to launch a hyper-local, omnichannel resource hub as one means of accessing services associated with the grant, Neighborhood Watch Association information and other neighborhood-specific or -relevant resources.
Connected communities are towns, main streets, neighborhoods, and cities that use data and technology-driven innovations to offer new and improved services to people and businesses. Through resources and funding opportunities, TVA is helping communities within the Valley leverage tech- and data-driven solutions to improve residents’ lives, deliver environmental benefits and scale economic opportunities. In particular, one focus area is Equitable Access to Services, elevating digital equity and inclusion for everyone by supporting broadband expansion and access to modern technologies.
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND/OVERVIEW
The Enterprise Center is a non-profit economic development partner to the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County that unites people, organizations and technology to build an advanced and inclusive future for our community, with a focus on equity, collaboration, economic mobility, and Smart City innovation. TEC is driven by the belief that in order to be a truly smart community, we must also be a digitally equitable community where everyone can benefit from the development of new technologies and participate in their creation.
In the fall of 2019, Tom Ozburn, at the time CEO of Parkridge, and Marvene Noel, then President of the Orchard Knob Neighborhood Watch Association, began recruiting other partners to form the Orchard Knob Collaborative. The goal of the partnership is to direct investments from Parkridge and their partners to neighborhood priorities, addressing the social determinants of health through improvements to physical infrastructure, social infrastructure and healthy living. While not itself a standalone 501(c)(3), the OKC serves as an organizing entity for a variety of projects, pilots and investments in Orchard Knob.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Through the Connected Community pilot program, community partners are offering a variety of services to residents within the historic Orchard Knob neighborhood, from Smart Home HVAC upgrades, to digital literacy classes, to low-cost internet access, to telehealth visits. Neighborhood events, alerts and other localized opportunities should also be accessible, but the goal is also to build a website ultimately simple to both use and manage — not simply to host a number of links at an easier-to-remember URL.
Ease of use and accessibility, including multilingual support, are of the utmost importance, as are performance, user privacy and a mobile-first design. Users may be new to or unfamiliar to such a resource hub, and manageability and approachability, through user-centric, universal design, is crucial.
A successful proposal will take into account all of these elements, delivering a wireframe or prototype early on in the design process, continual deployments to a preview environment for collaborative iteration throughout development and the final website, as well as bug fixes for 90 days following delivery.
Additionally, there may be interest in translating the resource hub for the needs and residents of other neighborhoods. The project will be open-sourced upon completion. Reusability and clear documentation of how to reuse the project are required. Additionally, any software used must have an unencumbered OSI license. The ease of management should be considered in proposals; ownership, updating and adding resources to these resource hubs should be accessible for users of any skill level.
PROJECT SCOPE
- A mobile-first, responsive website offering easy access to neighborhood resources and applications.
- OKC and neighborhood leaders must be able to edit and maintain the content themselves via a web admin.
- Must support English and Spanish display to end users.
- Must achieve a 100 score in Lighthouse for accessibility and be WCAG AAA compliant. Additionally must score a 90 or above in Lighthouse for Performance, SEO, and Best Practices.
- Code must be available to the public under an open source license approved by The Enterprise Center.
- Since many of our target audience may have limited internet access, priority should be placed on performance and lightweight file sizes over aesthetics. Additionally the site must not require JavaScript. JavaScript may be used on the server to render the site and may be used on the client to progressive enhance the site.
- Each page should come in under 100Kb of HTML, CSS, images, and JavaScript. Some allowance for higher file sizes for images will be made if they are only served on high bandwidth connections (ECT 4G and higher).
- User interface should adhere to common practices so that users without a lot of technical expertise can easily approach and use the hub.
- Must not collect any user-specific or personally-identifiable information, except for email addresses and phone numbers users enter to get notifications from the site
REQUIRED DELIVERABLES
- A wireframe or prototype;
- Visual mockups;
- The website itself; and
- Bug fixes for 90 days after launch.
PROPOSED TIMELINE
- Proposal Submission by May 26, 2023
- Start of Work by June 14, 2023
- Delivery of Beta on or before July 31, 2023
- Completion on or before August 15, 2023
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
Proposer Information Provide proposer’s name, address, website and telephone number. Include name, title and e-mail address of the individual who will serve as proposer’s primary contact. Include a brief description and history of your firm.
Project Approach Please explain your project approach, style and process. Provide any additional information you feel is important for us to consider in evaluating your proposal. Please include what kind of workflow do you envision for users of the tool (checklist, choose your own adventure, etc.) and any tech choices such as frameworks to use, hosting platforms, programming languages, etc.
Provide biographies of key staff Please include a summary of experience of all key staff. If any services are to be provided by outside consultants, please provide a brief description of the firm, its role and capabilities.
Experience Please include at least two in-depth case studies that include a limited number of creative samples. In addition and wherever possible, highlight work for analogous organizations with succinct descriptions of projects.
Project Schedule and Timeline Please include a proposed work schedule and timeline, including project milestones for the required deliverables outlined above. The contract is expected to begin June 1st and should be completed by August 1st.
Cost Proposals must include the estimated cost/fee for all work related to outlined tasks and deliverables.
References Supply at least two (2) references that have used your professional services for a similar project. Include a contact name, address, and a phone number along with a brief description of services rendered.
PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND FINAL NEGOTIATIONS
The key evaluation criteria are outlined below. This list is not exhaustive, and The Enterprise Center may consider any other available information in evaluating proposals. .
- Responsiveness to work scope and program needs;
- Demonstrated experience and expertise in similar projects;
- Demonstrated experience working with local small businesses and non-profit organizations;
- Demonstrated experience working with businesses and non-profit organizations led by persons of color and by women;
- Cost effectiveness;
- Comprehensiveness; and
- Demonstrated qualifications and experience of personnel assigned (i.e. qualifications, past work).
DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT
The Enterprise Center will identify the proposal that appears to be best able to meet the need outlined in the RFP and will enter into discussions with the proposer with the goal of reaching agreement on a definitive agreement that will specify the final scope of work, timeline, and cost of the project, along with other appropriate terms. If the discussions with the proposer of the proposal that appears most responsive are not successful, The Enterprise Center may enter into discussions with another proposer apparently capable of fulfilling the requirement or may reject all proposals.
TERMS
Proposals will be received and held in confidence by The Enterprise Center. All documents, including proposals, submitted become the property of The Enterprise Center.
This RFP does not commit The Enterprise Center to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal or to procure or contract for any services. The Enterprise Center reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received in response to this RFP; to negotiate with any proposer, and to cancel the RFP at its sole discretion.
The Enterprise Center reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to waive any requirement set forth in this RFP and to waive any irregularity regarding any response.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS
Please submit your proposal by 5:00pm EST on May 26th, 2023. Electronic submissions are preferred. No proposals received after the deadline will be considered.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?
If you have additional questions, please direct them via email to nancy@theenterprisectr.org
SUBMIT PROPOSALS TO:
Name: Nancy Tucker
Phone Number: (423) 661-3300
Email: nancy@theenterprisectr.org
Address: 1100 Market St., Suite 500 Chattanooga, TN 37402
