RFP804 _ Request for Proposals.pdf

RFP804

Atlanta Regional Commission

Request for Proposals (RFP) WordPress and Website Support

The Atlanta Regional Commission (“ARC”) is soliciting proposals from qualified consultants or firms to provide ongoing WordPress development support and related digital platform services.

ARC maintains a diverse ecosystem of WordPress websites, digital services, and web-based tools that support regional planning, communications, public engagement, and organizational operations. ARC seeks a technically mature and operationally reliable partner capable of supporting the continued evolution, maintenance, troubleshooting, accessibility remediation, modernization, enhancement, and design of these systems over the next three years. This support will be on an as-needed basis and will run the course of a year with the option of renewing it annually for two additional years.

ARC cannot guarantee that there will be support requests in the coming year and reserves the right not to request any support work over the course of this contract. ARC may engage multiple consultants, assign work based on expertise or availability, use internal staff, and access specialized services outside of this contract as needed.

ARC will convene an evaluation committee composed of members of ARC staff who will review all proposals and make a consultant selection.

Based on responses to this RFP, ARC may identify a short list of firms from the submissions received.

Should it be determined that interviews are required, the shortlisted firms may be invited to participate in an interview process with the evaluation committee. ARC reserves the right to award this contract based on proposals received without interviews.

ARC intends to award a contract by January 2027, and the successful consultant should be prepared to begin work immediately.

Proposal Contents Proposals should be limited to a total of no more than 10 pages (not including cover, table of contents, divider sheets, resumes, and cost proposal) and should include the following information:

1. Name of the firm,

2. Primary point of contact (name, title, email address and phone number) at the firm,

3. Qualifications and technical competence of consultant as related to the scope of services listed in Exhibit A,

4. Description of consultant’s similar experience on projects related to the Scope of Services listed in Exhibit A (provide examples),

5. Professional resumes of all individuals who will be assigned to the support services,

6. Hourly rates in the format on Exhibit B,

7. Any other pertinent information including potential additional services beyond the scope of work.

Questions regarding this RFP must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, October 1, 2026, and should be submitted to the ARC Procurement Portal. Pertinent information, including questions and responses to written questions, will be posted on the ARC website by Thursday, October 8, 2026. No other direct contact related to this RFP is permit t ed between prospect i ve consultants and the ARC staff.

All proposals must be submitted electronically through the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) procurement website. Proposal submitted by any other method (including email, mail, fax, or hand delivery) may not be accepted unless specified in the solicitation document.

Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 pm EST on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The procurement system will automatically record the date and submission. Late proposals will not be accepted under any circumstances.

The Respondent(s) is solely responsible for:

• Uploading all required documents;

• Verifying that files are complete, readable, and properly labeled; and

• Ensuring submission is finalized prior to the deadline.

• Only one proposal containing all required information may be uploaded per responder (the system will only submit the latest uploaded).

ARC is not responsible for technical difficulties, internet outages, user errors, or system delays experienced by the respondent. Respondents are strongly encouraged to submit proposals well in advance of the deadline.

Upon successful submission, the system will provide email confirmation. This confirmation serves as proof of receipt.

Evaluation Criteria Proposals will be evaluated by an internal ARC review committee. ARC reserves the right to request clarifications, conduct interviews, or request demonstrations from shortlisted firms before making a final selection.

Proposals will be scored on the following criteria:

Criteria Percentage

Development and design expertise 45%

Relevant experience and references 20%

Accessibility Expertise 15%

Hourly rate from Exhibit B 10%

Understanding of ARC or related organizations 10%

EXHIBIT A

Scope of Services and Requirements

ARC Digital Environment ARC maintains multiple WordPress websites and related digital services that have evolved over many years and through contributions from multiple development vendors and internal stakeholders.

The environment may include:

• Custom themes and plugins

• Legacy implementations

• Third-party integrations

• Cloud-hosted infrastructure

• Managed hosting environments

• Accessibility remediation requirements

• Staging and deployment workflows

• API integrations

• Evolving modernization and redesign initiatives

The selected consultant must demonstrate the ability to work effectively within inherited systems and incrementally improve platforms without requiring complete rebuilds unless specifically requested, while also possessing the capability to lead new site development and redesign projects when called upon.

Scope of Services The selected consultant may be asked to provide services including, but not limited to:

WordPress Development and Support

• Custom theme and plugin development,

• Development, maintenance, and support of WordPress implementations utilizing the classic, WordPress administrative interface, ACF-driven content structures, custom field architectures, and page builders including Divi, Elementor, and Beaver Builder,

• Gutenberg/block editor development where applicable, and support for potential future modernization pathways,

• Responsive and mobile-first development,

• New site development, site redesigns, and web design,

• Website enhancements and feature development,

• Troubleshooting and bug remediation,

• Technical debt remediation,

• Legacy system support,

• CMS configuration and optimization.

Accessibility Services

Accessibility is a core operational requirement of this procurement. Consultants should demonstrate experience supporting accessibility compliance and remediation efforts consistent with WCAG 2.1 AA standards (and readiness for WCAG 2.2) and evolving public-sector accessibility obligations. Accessibility considerations should be integrated from the outset of any new development or redesign effort, not treated as an afterthought.

Services may include:

• Accessibility audits and remediation

• Manual and automated accessibility testing

• Semantic HTML implementation

• Keyboard accessibility improvements

• Accessible form development

• ARIA implementation

• Color contrast remediation

• Dynamic content accessibility

• Remediation of legacy accessibility barriers

• Accessibility-focused QA processes

Infrastructure and Operational Support

• Hosting coordination and support

• CDN and caching coordination

• Performance optimization

• Security patching and hardening

• Backup and recovery coordination

• Deployment workflow support

• Staging environment support

• Version control and source management support

Strategic and Modernization Services

• Website modernization and redesign initiatives

• New site planning, design, and development

• Workflow and automation improvements

• API and third-party service integrations

• Digital platform sustainability improvements

• Architecture consultation

• Technical assessments and recommendations

• Emerging digital service support

ARC recognizes that web technologies and digital services continue to evolve. Consultants may propose appropriate use of modern development practices, automation, AI-assisted tooling, or emerging platform capabilities where relevant to improving maintainability, accessibility, operational efficiency, or user experience. However, ARC is not seeking speculative or trend-driven technology proposals disconnected from operational needs.

Required Workflow

• The consultant should be familiar and comfortable working in Microsoft Teams.

• The consultant may also be expected to discuss projects on the phone, through email and in person at our ARC offices in Atlanta. Travel costs will not be reimbursed.

• The consultant may be asked to provide time quotes on certain tasks prior to those tasks being performed. The consultant may also be asked to itemize tasks on their invoices and/or send separate invoices for separate projects.

• The consultant will invoice ARC monthly.

• The consultant will provide their own necessary hardware and software to complete the assigned tasks.

EXHIBIT B

Hourly Rates

Regular Hourly Rates $ /hour

Emergency Hourly Rates $ /hour

Terms for Emergency Rates:

EXHIBIT C

Contract Forms

(To be filled out by all respondents)

GEORGIA SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION COMPLIANCE ACT AFFIDAVIT

CONTRACTOR AFFIDAVIT

By executing this affidavit, the undersigned person or entity verifies its compliance with O.C.G.A. §13-10-91, stating affirmatively that the individual, firm or entity which is engaged in the physical performance of services under a contract with the Atlanta Regional Commission has registered with and is participating in a federal work authorization program, in accordance with the applicability provisions and deadlines established in O.C.G.A. 13-10-91.

The undersigned person or entity further agrees that it will continue to use the federal work authorization program throughout the contract period, and it will contract for the physical performance of services in satisfaction of such contract only with subcontractors who present an affidavit to the undersigned with the information required by O.C.G.A. 13-10-91(b).

The undersigned person or entity further agrees to maintain records of such compliance and provide a copy of each such verification to the Atlanta Regional Commission within five (5) business days after any subcontractor is retained to perform such service.

EEV / E-VerifyTM Company Identification Number Date of Authorization

Company Name

Signature of Authorized Officer or Agent

Title of Authorized Officer or Agent

Printed Name of Authorized Officer or Agent

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN

BEFORE ME ON THIS THE

DAY OF , 20__

[NOTARY SEAL]

Notary Public

My Commission Expires:

10/16

CONTRACTOR/VENDOR INFORMATION

Legal name & address of entity:

If different from above-

Legal name of Payee:

Payment Address:

Legal entity status (please mark all that apply):

(Federal) Employer Identification Number: ___________________________

OR

Social Security Number (for an individual): ___________________________

Is this contractor/vendor an attorney/law firm? YES_____ NO_____

Is this contractor/vendor debarred, suspended, ineligible or excluded from participation in federally funded projects? YES_____ NO_____

E-verify Status: _____Registered: E-verify Number__________ DUNS Number _______________

_____Not Registered

Is this contractor/vendor a:

YES____ NO_____

____Corporation/C-Corp LLC/S-Corp LLC

____Partnership/LLC Partnership/LLP

____Non-Profit: 501(c)(3)/501(c)(4)

____Individual/Sole-Proprietor/Single Member LLC

____Government: Federal/State/Local/Authority

____Other: (describe)____________________________

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise under 49 CFR Part 26?

Minority or Women Business Enterprise under 49 CFR Part 23? YES____ NO_____

Attach a copy of current certification(s).

Is this contractor/vendor a Non-federal entity that expends $750,000 or more in a year in Federal awards? YES____ NO_____ If so, attach a copy of most recent single or program-specific audit conducted in accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular A-133.

Certified true and correct:

Name: _______________________________

Title: ________________________________

Signature: _______________________________

Date: ___________________________________

(If additional addresses are needed, identify each and its purpose on the reverse of this page.)

Required Workflow

Exhibit B