2020.026P_Web_Site_Design_Services_FINAL.pdf

Proposal submissions will only be accepted in electronic form. All submissions must be delivered in accordance with the instructions of the document.

REQUEST

FOR

PROPOSALS

Web Site Design Services

FOR

WASHINGTON COUNTY, OREGON

PROPOSAL DUE BEFORE: 3 pm (PT) Friday August 14, 2020

(NO. 2020.026P)

PLEASE NOTE:

Copies of solicitation documents obtained from sources other than the Washington County Purchasing Division or ProcureNOW are not valid documents.

COPY OF LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT

WASHINGTON COUNTY, OREGON

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

(No. 2020.026P)

Washington County, Oregon is requesting sealed proposals from qualified firms to provide consulting services and redesign of the County’s outfacing website. The County is looking for a firm with the following attributes: a good breadth of experience doing design for sites of a similar size; proven UX expertise; focus on modern and contemporary design.

This request for proposals seeks a firm to create two website designs that will be modern, contemporary, and visually engaging. Further, the designs must be focused on ease of use, ease of navigation, and effectiveness for the visitor. The County will be migrating away from our current CMS to the Drupal platform, and we anticipate this will be hosted off-prem in the cloud.

Prospective respondents are strongly encouraged to attend a pre-proposal conference to be held Tuesday July 21, 2020 at 11:00 AM Pacific Time via Zoom. The pre-proposal conference is for all persons, firms, or companies interested in submitting a response to the RFP. The purpose of this meeting will be to answer questions pertaining to the RFP scope and documents

This is a multi-tiered proposal process. The first Tier of the proposal process response must be submitted by electronically uploading proposals prior to 3:00 pm Friday August 14, 2020 on the County’s electronic solicitation portal at www.WashCoPurch.com/biz. Proposals will not be accepted after the designated time and date, per the official bid clock within the ProcureNow procurement system.

The County may reject any proposal not in compliance with all prescribed public bidding procedures and requirements and may reject for good cause any or all proposals upon a finding by the County it is in the public interest to do so.

A copy of the Request for Proposal document is posted at www.WashCoPurch.com/biz. Proposal documents can be viewed and downloaded from the site. Proposers are responsible for checking the site for any addendums before submitting their proposals.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive any and all informalities in the best interest of the County.

Dated this 29nd June day of 2020.

Suzi Fulcher Purchasing Manager Phone: (503) 846-8734

Published: June 29, 2020 ORPIN June 30, 2020 PORTLAND TRIBUNE http://www.washcopurch.com/biz

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS

The following instructions, terms and conditions apply to all proposals to provide either goods or services to Washington County.

1 PRECEDENCE OF PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS

1.1 The order of precedence of documents is as follows:

1. Special Instructions

2. Standard Contract Terms & Conditions

3. Specifications/Scope of Work

4. General Instructions

2 COPIES OF PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS

2.1 Documents obtained from sources (such as directly from other contractors) other than www.WashCoPurch.com/biz are not valid proposal documents. It is the proposer's responsibility to insure they are following a particular project in order to receive notification of all addenda as well as additional relevant information.

3 LAWS AND REGULATIONS

3.1 The proposer is assumed to be familiar with all Federal, State, County or City laws or regulations, which in any manner affect those engaged or employed in the work or the materials or equipment used or which in any way affect the conduct of the work, and no pleas of misunderstanding will be considered on account of ignorance thereof. If the proposer shall discover any provision in these specifications or project information, plans or contract documents which is contrary to or inconsistent with any law or regulations, they shall report it to County in writing.

3.2 All work performed by the contractor shall be in compliance with all Federal, State, County and local laws, regulations and ordinances. Unless otherwise specified, the contractor shall be responsible for obtaining applicable permits and licenses.

4 COOPERATIVE PURCHASING

4.1 Pursuant to the intent of Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapter 279A.200, any publicly funded city, county, district, agency or similar entity shall have the authority to purchase specified goods/services directly from contractor under the terms and conditions of this contract.

4.2 The proposer agrees to extend identical pricing and services to other public agencies for the same terms.

4.3 Each contracting agency will execute a separate contract with the successful proposer for its requirements. Any ordering and billing shall take place directly between the proposer and such entity.

4.4 Any proposer, by written notification at the time of the proposal due date and time, may decline to extend the prices, services and terms of this proposal to any, and/or all other public agencies. There is no penalty for declining cooperative procurements.

5 RECYCLED MATERIALS AND SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES

5.1 Washington County supports and encourages the use of sustainable products by the

Contractor. To contribute to a clean environment for present and future generations, Contractor shall utilize sustainable products to the maximum extent feasible during the performance of this Contract.

6 SPECIFICATION PROTEST PROCESS

6.1 Delivery: A proposer must deliver a protest of specifications to the County in writing no later than seven (7) calendar days prior to the proposal due date as follows:

Specification Protest Proposal#: 2020.026P Washington County Purchasing Division ATTN: Purchasing Manager 155 North First Avenue, Suite 270 MS 28 Hillsboro, Oregon 97124-3072

6.2 Content: A proposer’s written protest must include:

6.2.1 A detailed statement of the legal and factual grounds for the protest;

6.2.2 description of the resulting prejudice to the proposer; and

6.2.3 a statement of the form of relief requested or any proposed changes to the specifications.

6.3 County Response: The County may reject without consideration a proposer’s protest after the deadline established for submitting protest. The County shall provide notice to the applicable proposer if it entirely rejects a protest. If the County agrees with the proposer’s protest, in whole or in part, the County shall either issue an addendum reflecting its determination or cancel the solicitation.

6.4 Extension of Closing: If the County receives a written protest from a proposer in accordance with this rule, the County may extend closing if the County determines an extension is necessary to consider the protest and to issue addenda, if any, to the solicitation document.

6.5 Judicial review of the County’s decision relating to a specification protest shall be in accordance with ORS 279B.405.

7 PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

7.1 All documents submitted to the County shall become public records, subject to disclosure, unless otherwise protected pursuant to the Oregon Public Records Law.

7.2 The County is subject to the Oregon Public Records Law (ORS 192.410 to 192.505), which requires the County to disclose all records generated or received in the transaction of County business, except as expressly exempted in ORS 192.501, 192.502, or other applicable law. Examples of exemptions that could be relevant include trade secrets (ORS 192.501 (2)) and computer programs (ORS 192.501(15)). The County will not disclose records submitted by a Proposer that are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Law, subject to the following procedures and limitations:

7.2.1 The entire RFP cannot be marked confidential, nor, shall any pricing be marked confidential;

7.2.2 All pages containing the records exempt from disclosure shall be marked “confidential” and segregated in the following manner:

7.2.2.1 It shall be clearly marked in bold and on each page of the confidential document.

7.2.2.2 It shall be kept separate from the other RFP documents in a separate file or folder.

7.2.2.3 Where this specification conflicts with other formatting and response instruction specifications, this specification shall prevail.

7.2.3 Where such conflict occurs, the Proposer is instructed to respond with the following: “Refer to confidential information enclosed.” This statement shall be inserted in the place where the requested information was to have been placed.

7.3 Proposers who desire that additional information be treated as confidential must mark those pages as “confidential”, cite a specific statutory basis for the exemption, and the reasons why the public interest would be served by the confidentiality. Should a proposal be submitted as described in this section no portion of it can be held as confidential unless that portion is segregated as described above.

7.4 Notwithstanding the above procedures, the County reserves the right to disclose information that the County determines, in its sole discretion, is not exempt from disclosure or that the County is directed to disclose by the County’s Attorney, the District Attorney or a court of competent jurisdiction. Prior to disclosing such information, the County will notify the Proposer. If the Proposer disagrees with the County’s decision, the County may, but is not required to enter into an agreement not to disclose the information so long as the Proposer bears the entire cost, including reasonable attorney’s fees, of any legal action, including any appeals, necessary to defend or support a no-disclosure decision.

8 PHONE PROPOSALS, LATE PROPOSALS OR MODIFICATIONS

8.1 Late proposals or modifications of proposals will be handled in the following manner:

8.1.1 It is the sole responsibility of the proposer to ensure upload of proposals by the County by the specified time. They system will not allow Proposers to upload after this time and the proposal will not be considered.

8.2 Any modification of a proposal is subject to the same conditions set forth in 8.1.1 above.

8.3 Proposals will not be accepted via Phone or FAX.

9 CERTIFICATION AND CONTRACT OFFER

9.1 An individual of the company who is authorized to legally obligate the company must sign the certification and contract offer in ink before an award will be made.

9.2 An offer will not be considered for award where the certification has been omitted, modified or not properly signed prior to presentation to the County Administrator or Board of Commissioners for award.

10 PERIOD PROPOSAL SHALL REMAIN VALID

10.1 All proposals shall remain firm for a period of 180 calendar-days after date specified for receipt of proposals.

11 ACCEPTANCE, REJECTION OR CANCELLATION OF AWARD

11.1 Washington County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this RFP and to negotiate with any qualified proposer(s) for all or part of the requested goods and services. All proposals become the property of the County.

11.2 This RFP does not commit the County to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred by companies responding. Washington County reserves the right to cancel award of this contract at any time before execution of the contract if cancellation is deemed to be in the County's best interests. In no event shall the County have any liability for the cancellation of the award. All costs of the proposal process, interviews, contract negotiations, and related expenses are the responsibility of the proposer.

11.3 Acceptance of a proposal is subject to budget approval, appropriation and budgetary constraints.

12 RIGHTS OF BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

12.1 The Board of Commissioners expressly reserves the following rights:

12.1.1 To waive irregularities in the proposals submitted.

12.1.2 To cancel the procurement or reject any proposals or portions thereof in accordance with ORS 279B.100.

12.1.3 To base awards with due regard to quality of services, experience, compliance with specifications, proposal response, and other such factors as necessary in the circumstances.

12.1.4 To make the award to any proposer whose proposal, in the opinion of management and the Board, is in the best interest of the County.

12.1.5 To negotiate contract terms and conditions.

13 QUALIFICATIONS/REFERENCES/RESPONSIBLE PROPOSER

13.1 Qualifications of proposers will be evaluated when determining the award. Proposers may be required to produce acceptable personal, business, and credit references and completed examples of previous work of a similar nature.

13.2 The County reserves the right to investigate references and to consider the past performance of any proposer with respect to its performance of similar projects, compliance with specifications and contractual obligations, its completion or delivery of services on schedule, and its lawful payment of employees and workers whether or not specifically listed by the proposer.

13.3 Before awarding a contract, the County shall determine that the apparent successful proposer has met the requirements of responsibility outlined in ORS 279B.110.

14 AWARD RECOMMENDATION

14.1 The notice of intent to award will be posted at www.WashCoPurch.com/biz at least seven

(7) days before the award of the contract. See PROTESTS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW OF CONTRACT AWARD below for protest of award.

14.2 The decision by the Board or the County Administrator to award the contract shall constitute the final decision of the County to award the contract.

15 INSPECTION OF PROPOSALS

15.1 Subject to the provisions of the Oregon Public Records Law, all proposals received will be available for public inspection after the notice of intent to award has been published.

Proposals will be provided via an electronic link.

15.2 Copies of material from proposal files may be obtained from the Washington County

Purchasing Division upon payment of a charges based upon the current County Fee Schedule. Prepayment is required for mailing copies of materials from the proposal files.

16 PROTESTS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW OF CONTRACT AWARD

16.1 Purpose. The award by the Washington County Board of Commissioners of the contract shall constitute a final decision of the County to award the contract if no written protest of the award is filed A proposer may protest the award of a contract, or the intent to award of a contract, whichever occurs first, if the conditions set forth in ORS 279B.410(1) are satisfied. A proposer must file a written protest with the County and exhaust all administrative remedies before seeking judicial review of the County's contract award decision.

16.2 Delivery. A proposer must deliver a written protest to the Washington County Purchasing Manager within seven (7) days after issuance of the notice of intent to award the contract.

16.3 Content of Protest. A proposer’s written protest shall specify the grounds for the protest to be considered pursuant to ORS 279B.410(2). Proposer may not protest the content of specifications in an award protest. Proposers may protest only deviations from laws, rules, regulations, or procedures including procedures set out in this RFP. Disagreement with the scoring by the Selection Committee is not a basis for protest. Protests must specify the grounds for the appeal including the specific citation of law, rule, regulation, or procedure upon which the protest is based.

16.4 County Response. The County shall not consider a proposer’s contract award protest submitted after the timeline established for submitting such protest. The County shall issue a written disposition of the protest in a timely manner as set forth in ORS 279B.410(4). If the County upholds the protest, in whole or in part, the County may in its sole discretion either award the contract to the successful protestor or cancel the procurement or solicitation. The County shall not consider any protest against award based on the content of specifications.

16.5 Judicial Review. Judicial review of the Board’s or its designee’s decision relating to a contract award protest shall be in accordance with ORS 279B.415.

17 NEGOTIATION WITH AWARDED CONTRACTOR(S)

17.1 The County reserves the right to negotiate final contract terms with the awarded contractor to the fullest extent allowed by law and as in the best interest of the County.

18 CONTRACTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY

18.1 It is understood that the specifications and other contract documents do not purport to control the method of performing the work, but only the requirements as to the nature of the completed work. The contractor assumes the entire responsibility for the method of performing the work. Suggestions as to the method included in the contract documents shall be deemed advisory only and the feasibility of such methods, or the lack thereof, shall not affect the contractor’s liability, or status as independent contractor, and contractor will remain responsible for the cost of all permits unless otherwise specified.

18.2 Contractor agrees to meet the highest standards prevalent in the industry or business most closely related to the goods or services of this proposal.

19 SOCIAL EQUITY

19.1 In order to promote economic growth, the County seeks to maximize the participation of diverse consultants, partners, contractors, and suppliers throughout the duration of the project.

19.2 Working in a way that promotes the empowerment of individuals, organizations, and communities most affected by inequities is a practical method of achieving equity. We want to integrate empowering equity strategies that allow for authentic voice to be heard and ultimately represented in decisions from this delivery of service.

19.3 The County values the community as a whole and calls out those providing and receiving services should have a positive economic impact from the delivery of services that is long term and positively changes our hierarchical systems to incorporate those who are most affected by inequities.

19.4 It is the County’s desire to create full and equal access to opportunities for all people that enable them to attain their full potential. We pay particular attention to the development of income and wealth for communities most affected by inequities.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS

In addition to the enclosed project/proposal information and general instructions, the following special instructions apply to this proposal only.

20 PROPOSED TIMELINES

DATE ACTIVITY

June 29, 2020 Date of Legal Advertisement July 21, 2020 11:00 AM PT Pre-proposal Conference August 11, 2020 at 11:00 AM PT Second Pre-Proposal Conference Seven (7) calendar days before proposal due date;

before 5 p.m. (PT)

Deadline to Submit Questions or Protests to the Specifications

3:00 PM Friday August 21, 2020 Tier 1 - Proposal Due Date August 24 – September 21, 2020 Evaluation of Tier 1 Submittals September 22, 2020 Announce Proposers Eligible for Tier 2 -

Demonstrations - Competitive Range September 28, 2020 before 5 p.m. (PT) Deadline to Protest Competitive Range for Tier 2 - Demonstrations September 28 - October 16, 2020 Interviews / Demonstrations October 19 – October 30, 2020 Tier 3 - Site Visits /Reference Checks Seven (7) calendar days before award of contract Dec 3, 2020

Notice of Intent to Award

Dec 11, 2020

Award Recommendation to County Administrator or Board of Commissioners

20.1 The County reserves the right to modify this schedule at the County's discretion. Proper notification of changes to the due date will be made to all parties that have received the proposal via notification from www.WashCoPurch.com/biz.

20.2 Time is of the essence in getting the system installed, the above schedule will be adjusted accordingly should some tasks take less time than scheduled.

21 CONTACT PERSON

21.1 Enter all questions regarding the meaning or intent of the solicitation into the questions area of the solicitation in www.WashCoPurch.com/biz.

22 PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCES

22.1 Prospective respondents are strongly encouraged to attend a pre-proposal conference to be held Tuesday July 21, 2020 at 11:00 AM Pacific Time via Zoom. The purpose of this meeting will be to answer questions pertaining to the RFP scope and documents.

22.2 Interested parties may attend, at no cost, via Zoom by contacting Suzi Fulcher at suzi_fulcher@co.washington.or.us to request a meeting invite.

22.3 A second pre-proposal conference will be held Tuesday August 11, 2020 at 11:00 AM Pacific Time via Zoom. Those who are Following the solicitation at www.WashCoPurch.com/biz will be sent an invite to a Zoom meeting. This meeting will be for final clarifications and explanations.

22.4 Statements made by County’s representative(s) at the pre-proposal conference are not binding upon the County unless confirmed by written addendum.

22.5 The purpose of the pre-proposal conference is to offer the prospective proposers an opportunity to ask questions and clarify RFP contract and instructions to ensure proposals submitted meet the criteria.

22.6 To guarantee the most appropriate use of time, proposers are expected to review the RFP before the pre-proposal conference. Questions regarding the project/proposal information will be discussed at the pre-proposal conference.

23 INTERPRETATIONS AND ADDENDA

23.1 If necessary, interpretations or clarifications in response to questions will be issued by addenda. Questions received less than five (5) business days before the proposal due date may not be answered unless the County determines, in its sole discretion that it is in its best interests to do so. Oral and other interpretations or clarifications will be without legal effect.

23.2 Any amendment(s) to or error(s) in the RFP called to the attention of the County will be added to or corrected by written addendum and posted to www.WashCoPurch.com/biz. The County may also issue addenda to modify the proposal documents, as it deems advisable.

23.3 Receipt of addenda must be acknowledged in the Vendor Questionnaire.

23.4 Proposers shall be solely responsible to check for and download all addenda, if any, from the www.WashCoPurch.com/biz prior to submitting their proposals.

23.5 After opening proposals, the County may issue or electronically post an addendum to the request for proposals that modifies the criteria, rating process and procedure for any tier of competition before the start of the tier to which the addendum applies.

23.6 The County shall send an addendum that is issued by a method other than electronic posting to all proposers who are eligible to compete under the addendum. The County shall issue or post the addendum at least five days before the start of the subject tier of competition or as the County otherwise determines is adequate to allow eligible proposers to prepare for the competition in accordance with County rules.

mailto:suzi_fulcher@co.washington.or.us

24 RESPONSE FORMAT

24.1 All responses to questions in Section 25 to be provided in writing not as references or links to websites unless so designated. However, any website design illustrations or mock-ups included to support the proposer’s proof of ability to deliver the product may be delivered to the County via link to external website or illustration portal.

24.2 Cost Proposal in separate file. Provide a pricing proposal per Section 25.6.

24.3 The proposal shall be prepared succinctly, providing a straight forward, concise description of the proposer’s ability to meet the requirements of the RFP. There should be no unnecessary attachments or exhibits.

25 PROPOSAL CONTENT

25.1 To facilitate evaluation, please prepare your proposal according to the format outlined below:

25.2 Letter of Transmittal/Cover Letter Should include the following:

25.2.1 Structure or type of business entity and name(s) of the person(s) authorized to represent the Proposer in any negotiations

25.2.2 Name(s) of the person(s) authorized to sign any contract that may result

25.2.3 Contact person’s name, mailing or street addresses, phone numbers, and email address

25.2.4 Statement that no redactions are requested, if applicable

25.2.5 A legal representative of the Proposer, authorized to bind the firm in contractual matters, must sign the Cover Letter

25.3 Certification and Contract Offer: Failure to sign and submit this form may be cause for rejection.

25.4 Project Management

25.4.1 State your understanding of the issues affecting this contract and briefly describe how your firm will approach the project based on the information presented in this RFP. Outline your firm’s project management plan, including the approach to maintaining good communication, coordinating with the in house digital team, communicating with Departmental representatives, and meeting deadlines.

25.4.2 Explain how you facilitate effective communication and successful completion of the project on schedule and at a reasonable cost.

25.5 Proposed Work Plan

25.5.1 The proposed work plan will thoroughly address all aspects of the scope of work including the following, any work to be performed by subcontractors or others shall be designated as such:

A. Demonstrate how your plan will effectively deliver the design elements and product desired to bring the sites into a contemporary state.

B. Describe how the project team will be adequate to complete the work as required.

C. Describe how your work plan demonstrates an understanding of the desired design outcome. Describe an order of operation of what Design work must/will be needed before other Design work.

D. Describe how the proposed workplan will be segmented into milestone

Deliverables, and what the firm proposes they are based on the scope of work and outlined Desired Features and Elements.

25.6 Project Cost/Budget: In a separate file estimate a reasonable budget for project. This should include an itemized schedule of professional fees and costs for performance under this contract. Such fee schedule should include the hourly rates for assigned personnel or a single hourly rate if that is the firm’s preferred billing arrangement. Also include a schedule of reimbursable expenses. Additionally and importantly, the estimate should be based on milestones achieved and what those milestone deliverables are.

25.7 Experience: Briefly describe other projects completed or in progress by your firm that demonstrate relevant experience, and that best characterize the firm’s capabilities, work quality and cost control. Include site addresses contact person, email and telephone number for evaluator review. Projects for Public agencies, particularly those like Washington County, are especially desirable.

25.8 Project Team: Provide, in an exhibit or attachment, a professional resume for the key personnel, including key personnel of any sub-consultants proposed to be assigned to the project. This information will not be evaluated.

25.9 Philosophy and Approach:

25.9.1 Describe your firm’s design and management philosophy; indicate what makes you uniquely qualified for providing the services of this RFP.

25.9.2 Describe your firm’s approach in team coordination and alignment of project goals and objectives.

25.9.3 Briefly describe your quality assurance and cost control methods as it relates to the performance of the Scope of Work by members of the project team.

25.9.4 Provide input on how to specifically implement designs that firm proposes.

25.9.5 You may include the experience and expertise of major sub-consultants as well. If applicable, discuss any unique aspects of the project for which your firm is particularly well qualified, alternative approaches the County might wish to consider.

25.10 Inclusivity:

25.10.1 Describe the diversity in demographics of the proposal team (yourself, your firm and/or any proposed subcontractors). Include race, gender, veteran status and those working with what may be considered a disability. You may also include other measures of diversity.

25.10.2 Describe the diversity and language capabilities of your agency’s personnel, particularly those who will be involved in outreach and information gathering.

25.10.3 Support: Describe specific examples of how you and/or your firm support inclusivity and diversity within your firm and/or your local community.

25.11 County’s in-house digital experience team has reviewed several large government sites and compiled an illustration of features and design elements that are desired in the new design.

These are either desired explicitly or serve as examples of what we’d like to see (Reference the attached Exhibit 1 - Desired Features and Elements). Provide links, verifiable testimonials, and other forms of information sharing that demonstrate your firm possesses the attributes outlined in Section 32 and can include features referenced in Exhibit 1. Any work represented in this submittal that was not performed by the proposer shall be labeled or called out (i.e. components built by the customer, a subcontractor, or other firm).

25.12 Provide links to 2 to 4 sites that show your firm will be capable of producing a design that will include design elements, functions, and features typical of NAGW “Pinnacle Award” winning sites in the Large County or City category:

https://nagw.org/pinnacle_award_winners Any work represented in this submittal that was not performed by the proposer shall be labeled or called out (i.e. components built by the customer, a subcontractor, or other firm).

25.13 List any contracts terminated for cause within the last five (5) years and include the reason why.

26 GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL AND RECEIPT

26.1 To be considered for this contract, each proposer must upload its complete proposal to www.WashCoPurch.com/biz with separate files for costing and any proprietary information.

https://nagw.org/pinnacle_award_winners

26.2 Proposals must be uploaded by 3:00 pm Friday August 14, 2020. The system will not allow late uploads. Allow plenty of time to ensure your upload is successful. Slow or malfunctioning internet shall not be an acceptable reason for late submissions.

26.3 Proposers are required to submit the proposal forms furnished in this RFP document. Please retain a copy for your records. Proposals will not be read aloud.

26.4 Each submittal shall contain the following:

26.4.1 The signed and dated certification and contract offer sheet.

26.4.2 Responses, Certifications, or Agreements to Section 25.

26.4.3 Proposers shall provide, in a separate file, a copy of any contracts, licensing agreements, or other documents that the County will be asked to sign if they are the chosen contractor.

26.4.4 Failure to submit any of the required items may be grounds for rejection of the proposal.

26.5 Proposals will not be read aloud.

27 EVALUATION CRITERIA AND SELECTION PROCESS

27.1 All proposals will be reviewed by staff based on the following criteria. Each evaluation criteria has been assigned points based on its relative value to the contract as a whole. The criteria and the associated points are listed in the table below:

CRITERIA POINTS

Project Management (Reference Section 25.4) 10 Proposed Work Plan and Approach (Reference Section 25.5) 10 Project Costs/Budget (Reference Section 25.6) 15 Experience (Reference Section 25.7) 10 Philosophy and Approach (Reference Section 25.9) 15 Inclusivity (Reference Section 25.10) 5 Evidence of ability to Design to Contemporary Standards and

Supply Desired Design Elements (Reference Section 25.11 and 25.12)

Following Proposal Response Guidelines 5 Subtotal 100 Tier 2 - Interview/Presentations 50

TOTAL POINTS 150

27.2 This is a multi-tiered proposal. The County may issue an addendum as per Section 23, before any tier in the evaluation process. Top scoring proposers may be selected for the next tier.

27.3 The responses to this RFP, along with interviews and potential conversations/visits with current or past customers for whom the firm has performed similar website design work., will all be used as part of the process in the selection of a design firm who demonstrates the design skills, creativity, and capabilities to provide design alternatives to satisfy the Design Philosophies (Section 35) within the budget allotted for this project.

27.4 After the above activity has occurred, a single firm will be identified that is best able to provide the services to the County. The County reserves the sole right to determine the best Proposer. A notice of intent to award will be published and a recommendation will be presented to the County Administrator or Board of Commissioners for their consideration.

27.5 The firm that is selected to provide the new website designs, will then be required to work with the County to construct a coordinated project plan to develop and implement the new designs, with roles and responsibilities identified. The County will have on staff a project manager assigned to the web site redesign project.

27.6 The County reserves the right to obtain clarification of any point in regards to a proposal or to obtain additional information necessary to properly evaluate a proposal. Failure of a Proposer to respond to such a request for additional information or clarification could result in rejection of their proposal.

28 FORM OF CONTRACT

28.1 A copy of the standard personal service contract that the County expects the successful firm or individual to execute is included as Attachment A. The contract will incorporate the terms and conditions from this RFP document and the successful proposer's response documents.

28.2 Firms taking exception to any of the contract terms should indicate the same in their proposals or their exceptions will be deemed waived.

29 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

29.1 The insurance requirements for this contract are outlined in the Insurance Requirements

Summary Form.

30 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

30.1 The Contract Administrator will be Max Romero.

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS / SCOPE OF WORK

31 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Washington County is a suburban county located on the western edge of Portland, Oregon.

Its boundaries extend from the City of Portland to the coast range. The current population is approximately 600,000 people. There is a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas. The eastern half of the County is composed of service industries, light manufacturing, residential and commercial activity. It is relatively densely populated. The western half is primarily farms and private forest lands across rural settings, together with several smaller incorporated and unincorporated communities.

The County seat of government is located in Hillsboro, Oregon. The County has experienced substantial growth over the last fifty years principally in the electronics and high-tech industries. Twenty percent of the entire state's population growth in the last five years has occurred in Washington County.

The County is a home rule- county, governed by five elected Commissioners who appoint a County Administrator as the chief executive of the County. There are currently approximately 1950 employees in all areas of County government who are engaged in providing the multitude of services required by its member cities, businesses and general population.

32 PREFERRED FIRM PROFILE

32.1 Washington County is looking for a firm with the following attributes to lead the County through the replacement of the County’s current external website.

32.1.1 Firm with a good breadth of experience doing design for government sites is preferred, but not required.

32.1.2 Track record for designing sites with the user in mind (user experience heavy).

32.1.3 End product will empower the customer to update the designs after the project is complete (raw files).

32.1.4 Firms who show that their specialty is design or have a dedicated design practice with staff specifically dedicated to design, rather than a diluted focus across multiple areas such as content editing, migration and template development will score highest.

32.1.5 Firms that are communicative and can participate in our agile structure will score higher.

32.1.6 Can propose design alternatives that are a good fit with our CMS and technical direction.

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS/SCOPE OF WORK

33 PROJECT OVERVIEW AND DESCRIPTION

33.1 This request for proposals seeks a firm to create two website designs that will be modern, contemporary, and visually engaging. Further, the designs must be focused on ease of use, ease of navigation, and effectiveness for the visitor.

33.2 The two websites being replaced are the Washington County Oregon general government website and the Washington County Oregon Sheriff’s Office website:

https://www.co.washington.or.us/ https://www.co.washington.or.us/sheriff/

33.3 While the two websites present different branding, color palette, and some other differences, they share a common navigation mechanism and general site structure. It is our intent that the design firm will maintain this similarity for the most part while retaining the differences that are apparent in the current design.

33.4 Going forward the term “redesign” or “design” will pertain to both sites and any other descriptions or narrative will pertain to both sites.

33.5 The County’s objective is to obtain a fresh and new look and design, presentation, navigation, organization and functionality. The existing County branding (logos, color palette, etc.) will remain the same.

33.6 The design in general and overall must support and bring into effect the directives in the

Website Design Philosophies (Reference Section 35 - Design Philosophies). These Philosophies provide the overarching needs of the new design and should continuously guide the successful design firm’s work.

33.7 The site design must be first and foremost mobile-ready / responsive with the primary site desktop view looking very much like the mobile view.

33.8 It must also be noted that the County will be migrating away from our current CMS to the

Drupal platform.

https://www.co.washington.or.us/ https://www.co.washington.or.us/sheriff/

34 DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES

34.1 Significantly improved ADA compliance;

34.2 Migration is a re-write for enhanced clarity and other purposes;

34.3 Significant reduction in PDF use;

34.4 Eliminate the organizational hierarchy for the visitor;

34.5 Everything is easy to find - service endpoints;

34.6 Design for mobile primary - desktop experience is like mobile experience;

34.7 Site must be visually engaging;

34.8 Key elements will be repurposed from award winning government sites;

34.9 Reduce custom applications;

34.10 Enhance cybersecurity conformance, auditing, and remediation capabilities;

34.11 Eliminate disparate platforms.

35 PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS

35.1 HTML and CSS generated must adhere to cross-browser standards as set by the W3C consortium.

35.2 Validate new site design for significantly improved WCAG 2 / ADA compliance.

35.3 Minimize the Washington County organizational hierarchy as a site content organization scheme. Present more obvious access points to popular services for site visitors.

35.4 Provide top horizontal primary navigation with abbreviated full page-width fly-down expansion or suggest modern/contemporary alternatives.

35.5 Ensure service endpoints are easy for visitors to find. For example, present the most commonly sought resources in a grid just below the top horizontal nav.

35.6 Design for mobile devices first and ensure design is responsive so that the desktop experience closely resembles the mobile experience.

35.7 Work with County to repurpose key elements from award winning government sites.

35.8 A “hero image” (not a video) fills the screen or a large portion of the screen on primary/subsite homepage(s). Consists of background image with type and/or other design elements in the foreground.

35.9 Make better use of available real estate within content region (editable by authors) to accommodate bigger, bolder, and easier to read buttons, icons, and content.

35.10 Ensure provided design/typography supports the goal of "bite/snack/meal” content layout wherein authors will rewrite content to ensure an article summary can appear at the top with additionally detailed layers of content appear below, with the bulk of key information appearing “above the fold”.

35.11 Hidden or "hamburger" menu, usually an icon/button composed of 3 stacked horizontal lines, to provide the user other options that are not necessarily available on the normal horizontal nav. menu.

35.12 Prominent search form placement (large and potentially “center of frame” on homepages).

35.13 Customized print styles to ensure printed pages have a refined, minimal look and feel.

35.14 Increase default size of text, buttons, and form fields and provide options for adjusting display settings. Must work with responsive design.

35.15 Utilize and build upon an existing design system/library (e.g. Bootstrap, USWDS.)

35.16 Ensure all content displays well in provided layouts/themes through final QA activities.

36 REQUIRED DELIVERABLES

36.1 Upon completion, present County with design specification, document that lays out the templates as well as design concepts incorporating revised information architecture and navigational paradigm.

36.1.1 General Government (new theme/template, minimum 4 page variations)

36.1.2 Sheriff’s Office (new theme/template, minimum 4 page variations)

36.2 Create a static development site for demonstration purposes, site with minimal content that can be updated for team to evaluate the themes/templates.

36.3 Provide wireframes for committee evaluation prior to full theme/template development across all requested page variations.

36.4 Provide reference documentation such as design blueprint and style guide (color palette, fonts, imagery, heading styles, container specifications) to enable Board and CAO sign-off and to ensure continuity when updates to design/templates are made by the County.

36.5 Provide raw files, assets, and source material to County (e.g. fonts, images, Illustrator files, Photoshop files).

36.6 Provide all above deliverables as per the requirements of the project’s Master Schedule that will be developed during contract negotiations.

36.7 In addition to the two primary web sites for which these design services are being sought there may be opportunity for the successful firm to provide additional Design work and Drupal theming. This work will be relevant to several (7-14) small websites hosted by various services but are County properties. These sites will be migrated into the new CMS system. The services needed will not involve a FULL new Design, but rather more of a replication of the Design already in place. Provide information on how the firm would approach this work, price it and work with the County.

EXHIBIT 1

Web Site Design 2.0 Illustration of Example Desired Features & Elements

Exhibit 2 http://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Confirmations/PageR ating?CFID=135761475&CFTOKEN=8f4c38969ac211bf‐

10E5DF0B‐9BEA‐1404‐7F93A888D34DD7A9

Babbitt – I like the page rating on EACH page.

Babbitt – Generally like their top nav sections/subjects and the I

WANT TO...

Babbitt – Like the “By clicking….” link to a Terms of Use (not a huge priority probably) https://www.citysourced.com/

Babbitt – Baltimore uses a 3rd party ticket/comment system for getting back to folks.

Babbitt – Like the Fairfax "settings" modal here which pops up with a click on the GEAR top right.

For discussion: Accessibility widget, such as AudioEye or UserWay, to augment (not replace) Section 508 compliant design, architecture, author training, etc. Thoughts? [Scott] https://www.maricopa.gov (4th most populous county in the U.S.)

https://www.mywinterhaven.com https://mexico‐chamber.org/website‐accessibility https://www.fortlauderdale.gov https://www.breachamber.com/accessibility‐statement https://www.foresthillspa.org https://www.deltonafl.gov

Breadcrumbs [Scott] https://www.larimer.org/sheriff/patrol/specialty‐units/k9‐unit https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/web/gwinnett/departments/planninganddevelopment/rezoning‐ sup/bocresolutions

Display only current subsite in left nav of division/program/sub‐program pages (not entire department nav tree) – https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/permits/pdm_miscperm/animallicense.html [Scott]

For discussion: “Back to top” arrow? – https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov, https://www.tulsacounty.org [Scott]

Babbitt – Who is this? Like the FAQ engine capabilities and structure.

Babbitt – Baltimore had an aware for their Road Closures website (WC‐

ROADS)

Call with Heather at Baltimore County 7/11/2019 – they WENT to this top nav scheme AWAY FROM mega‐menus because They were so difficult to maintain.

Babbitt – Liked the Baltimore action items here.

Easy access to all‐County news and social media index – https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov [Scott]

Babbitt – Like the Utah action items and icons above and the immediate feedback capability on each page.

Babbitt – Like the Utah footer here with the icons and features listed and the sections. General layout.

Simple, legible, uncluttered footer containing key reference links: A‐Z Services, Departments, Media Contacts, Feedback, Policies (Browser, Accessibly, and Privacy), and social/contact info – https://www.smcgov.org [Scott]

Babbitt – Like the Utah icons and services offerings above AND the giant search box front and center with animated pre‐fill example.

Babbitt – Like the Utah general design aspect of large picture with semi‐transparent model arrow here. The icons/capailities above seem to follow one from page to page.

Babbitt – Repeat on immediate feedback.

City of Detroit

Customized display of local resources by home address [Lee]

Displays a variety of data points specific to searched address:

• Government representatives

• Police contact

• Services information

• Property information

• Local “areas of improvement”

[Lee]

Key officers roster with thumbnails and newsrolls [Lee]

City of Boston

Current date and “dashboard” of status of popular services [Lee]

Key upcoming event banner [Lee]

Most commonly sought resources in a grid just below the fold (these could presented dynamically based on monthly slice of Analytics, etc.) [Lee]

Helpful search filter by content type [Lee]

Departments each have an icon that may be helpful for lower literacy visitors [Lee]

Department listing contains contact numbers

Each page viewed in desktop‐sized viewport gets a "contact card" on the right side of the page content [Lee]

Larimer County, CO Website feedback mini‐banner (position is static despite scrolling)

Most popular content area dashboard

Action‐based “I Want To” central nav

[Lee]

Advisory banner is a block where communicators have permissions to change and enable/disable.[Lee]

Jail Population page is Angular‐based, shows live roll‐up stats pulled from law enforcement data sources. [Lee]

Jail Population page is Angular‐based, shows live roll‐up stats pulled from law enforcement data sources. [Lee]

Transparency efforts:

Footer links lead to SiteImprove accessibility metrics page (/accessibility), as well as Trustwave, Bitsight security metrics [Lee]

City of Raleigh, NC Typical homepage carousel/hero imagery container stays collapsed while loading images, leaving Popular Services dashboard at the top instead of wasted screen real estate. [Lee]

Common Design Traits [Lee] Full navigation is collapsed into “hamburger stack” icon or horizontal nav at top of page

“Mobile‐first” design approach

“Less is more” in terms of amount of content or data on each page

Newsroll is generally not presented on homepage, or is toward the bottom

City of Philadelphia Content feedback form offers more than just "helpful? yes/no" while using simple language.

Form expands from inconspicuous banner/button. [Jung]

City of Philadelphia Content feedback form offers more than just "helpful? yes/no" while using simple language.

Form expands from inconspicuous banner/button. [Jung]

City of Philadelphia Project progress tracker near bottom of page keeps visitors apprised of status [Jung]

New York State Ability to save services without the need for an account and have specific content dynamically targeted to users. Website example is using localstorage to achieve this. [Jung]

[Babbitt] Fairfax County – Like the contact presentation (powder blue) at the TOP Of the page.

Like the pin‐point icon for the map reference.

ATTACHMENT A

2019 WASHINGTON COUNTY PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT 1

WASHINGTON COUNTY OREGON Contract No:

PERSONAL / PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT

This contract is between Washington County, a political subdivision of the State of Oregon (“County”), and

__________________________________________________________________ (“Contractor”).

County and Contractor, in consideration of the mutual promises, terms and conditions provided herein, agree to the following:

SECTION 1 - PURPOSE AND STANDARD OF SERVICES

1.1 This contract sets forth the responsibilities and clarifies the relationship between the County and the Contractor.

1.2 Services performed by Contractor shall be performed to the standards described in Section 30 of the County Contract Terms and Conditions below.

SECTION 2 - CONSIDERATION

2.1 Contractor shall perform the work described in Attachment A, in consideration for which County agrees to pay for the work in the manner as further described in this contract.

2.2 The maximum amount payable under this contract is $ _______________; unless otherwise amended.

Contractor bears the risk of non-payment for services in excess of the amount stated above without prior County approval; but County reserves the right to ratify and pay for such services in its sole discretion.

2.3 If applicable, payments based upon hourly rates or other measurements and provisions for travel expenses are set forth and identified in Attachment A.

2.4 Unless otherwise stated in Attachment A, the payment terms are thirty days after invoice approval by the County Contract Administrator.

SECTION 3 – CONTRACT TERM

3.1. The effective date is: ______________, or upon final signature, whichever is later.

3.2. The expiration date is: _________________, unless otherwise amended.

3.3. Passage of the contract expiration date shall not extinguish or prejudice the County's right…