Capital Area Council of Governments Request for Proposals - WEBSITE REDESIGN. Questions and Answers Posted on 07/13/18

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1 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310, Suite 165 Austin, Texas Ph: Fax: BASTROP BLANCO BURNET CALDWELL FAYETTE HAYS LEE LLANO TRAVIS WILLIAMSON Capital Area Council of Governments Request for Proposals - WEBSITE REDESIGN Questions and Answers Posted on 07/13/18 1. Question: What is the decision-making process for this RFP? Similarly - Who will be making the final decision to select the partner for this project? An evaluation team of IT, Administrative Services, and Executive Office staff will review and score proposals, and forward their recommendation to the CAPCOG s Executive Committee. Consultation may be made with other users of our website (Finance and Training Academy staff). Award of a contract is subject to approval of CAPCOG s Executive Committee. CAPCOG will select the responsible proposer whose proposal is the most advantageous to CAPCOG and its participating governments. 2. Question: Whether companies from outside the USA can apply for this (like India or Canada)? Similarly - Whether foreign vendors can participate in proposed website redesign opportunity? Similarly - Are you considering firms from outside of Texas for this project? Our purchasing policies are open, and therefore show no preference for geographic location. However, in our deliverables we have set the expectation of at least two (2) on-site meetings. All bidders should also be fully aware of the applicable laws and regulations required for local governments in Texas, and particularly website accessibility for public entities. 3. Question: Whether we need to come over there for meetings? Similarly - Do companies need to physically attend meetings or can they attend remotely? See above two (2) on-site meetings are requested. Customer service and support is an important component of this RFP. CAPCOG believes to best facilitate the design process an in-person meeting will be required, so that recommendations and drafts can be address properly. 4. Question: Will CAPCOG reimburse for travel expenses? All costs must be included in the proposal, including travel expenses, if applicable. 5. Question: Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA? The resulting contract for this RFP will be subject to Texas state laws, and the venue will be Travis County, Texas. The contractor and any subcontractor would also need to demonstrate compliance with non-discrimination policies and conflict of interest certifications as set out in the RFP packet. 6. Question: Can we submit the proposals via ? Proposals may be submitted via .

2 7. Question: Is the incumbent bidding on this project? No. 8. Question: Does CAPCOG currently have incumbent vendors providing similar services? If so, can CAPCPG identify the vendor? The CAPCOG website was developed with Mighty Citizen, formerly Trade Mark Media. Its last significant update in 2014 with the construction of the pages at capcog.org/training. 9. Question: Can CAPCOG share a list of current and desired third-party platforms? Similarly - What thirdparty platforms does the new site need to be integrated with? Similarly - What 3rd-party tools are used on the site? For example, what service does CAPCOG use for subscriptions/communication? CAPCOG is currently using Campaign Monitor to handle its e-newsletters and other mass s which has a subscription box built into the website. The site also uses Stripe to handle its credit card billing. Stripe will need to be integrated with the new website. CAPCOG is exploring the option of using other mass ing platforms. 10. Question: For event registrations, are these managed with the current content management system or handled by another system? If another system, please provide the system(s). Current CMS. 11. Question: For current and former training classes, are these managed with the current content management system or handled by another system? If another system, please provide the system(s) Current CMS which is Express Engine; however, there is a MYSQL database that contains the information that is populated through the training website. CAPCOG doesn t have access to this database. 12. Question: Please elaborate on how online payments are currently handled. Does the system require recurring payments? Where is credit card information stored? Online payment Merchant Account with Stripe is currently used to process registrations. External users (usually law enforcement personnel) pay on the website for one-time charges to attend a class. There are not recurring charges set up. Credit card information is secured with Stripe. 13. Question: In regards to training site, what "additional reporting and processing needs for training/event registration" might be needed? The Finance Dept would like to extract demographic and financial information received during registration in output files like Excel that are easy to import into accounting system. The information needed includes who is taking the class, who is paying for the class, which class is being registered for, fee being charged for the class (they vary), if the registrant is ed a confirmation and a receipt, etc. The goal is to eliminate duplicate and manual entry with our financial system. 14. Question: In regards to training site, would integration with a 3rd party system like EventBrite be considered for this or are you looking for an all-inclusive system? A 3rd party system could be considered; however, a pricing structure that adds processing fee to registrants/participants is not desired. Options where merchant assumes this fees would be considered. 15. Question: Is it safe to assume that only future events that occur after the site launches will need to be transferred? OR, will historical events need to be migrated as well? CAPCOG RFP Website Redesign Q & A Page 2 of 6

3 It is not safe to assume. All future events will need to be transferred, but some historical events, especially some larger recent ones may need to be transferred as well. 16. Question: Can events extend over multiple days? Yes. 17. Question: For the newsletter is this intended to support these four newsletters / updates? CAPCOG Newsletter Data Points Newsletter Media Releases Training Alerts 18. Yes, plus at least two additional e-newsletters. One for our Air Quality Program and one for our Commute Solutions Program. CAPCOG would like the ability to expand its ability to expand its subscriber list. 19. Question: Do you intend to remain with createsend.com for newsletters? CAPCOG is exploring the option of using other mass ing platforms. 20. Question: How many subscribers to you have for each newsletter? Across all mass lists there are about 5,200 subscribers. The breakdown is as follows: CAPCOG Newsletter 1,995 Data Points Newsletter 1,615 Media Releases 1,019 Training Alerts 1,297 Commute Solutions 2,565 Air Quality Question: Does CAPCOG have a preference on the content management system platform too[sic] be used (e.g., WordPress, Drupal) or whether it would prefer an open-source CMS vs. proprietary CMS? Similarly - Are you committed to using ExpressionEngine CMS for the new site? If not, will you consider an open-source platform like Drupal or WordPress? Similarly - Are you open to opting for Drupal as your Content Management System? Similarly - Are there any CMS's that CAPCOG would not consider for this project? CAPCOG would prefer not to continue with ExpressionEngine. It would prefer an opensource CMS, but is open to other types of CMSes. 22. Question: What is the estimated cost of the Content Management System? CAPCOG has not compiled CMS cost estimates. 23. Question: Can CAPCOG share the number of content administrators expected to work on the site postlaunch? Yes - Five (5) at this time. There will be one heavy user, two users who will only update training events and two users who will provide support for administrating the website and make minimal changes to particular pages. 24. Question: Has funding been set aside for the work covered in this RFP? CAPCOG RFP Website Redesign Q & A Page 3 of 6

4 Yes 25. Question: Does CAPCOG have a budget range in mind for this engagement? Similarly - What is your budget for this project? Similarly - Do you have a budget allotted for this project? Similarly - Is there budget allocated for this project? If so, what is it? CAPCOG has $55,000 budgeted. 26. Question: Do you have an annual budget for hosting? If so, what is the amount? No. 27. Question: Does the RFP require us to propose the design idea in the proposal itself? No, but proposers will need to provide us a visual idea of their approach and concept. 28. Question: You have listed very specific requirements for the new website design. Are you committed to those requirements or are you open to revisions based on feedback from a discovery phase? Revisions will be acceptable, but all elements must be met in some way. 29. Question: For things like wireframes and designs, how many people are involved in the approval process? At least three (3). 30. Question: How many people update the website who would need training on the new system? Two. 31. Question: Do you have available staff to assist with various manual components of migrating content from the old site to the new site? Yes, but depending on the time of migration availability may lessen. 32. Question: The RFP states that: "Since CAPCOG is a government organization and has to have certain information clearly visible for its members, it doesn t need to have an analysis of page views to determine what should be located on the homepage or other pages." Can you elaborate on how this pertains to CAPCOG's desire for either baseline (initial) or validation (after deliverables) user testing? Testing will be done by internal user, and feedback maybe given by a handful of trusted CAPCOG external stakeholders. 33. Question: Has the Department allocated funding for the it yet? If so, through which source (budget, CIP, state/federal grant, etc.)? If no funding is secured, which sources will be sought and when? If utilizing a grant, would you be able to specify which one? Funding is set aside for this project. No single grant is funding the work. However, we are a public entity and all funds used are public funds for this project. 34. Question: Does the Department need to replace or upgrade any of the integrated systems in the next 5 years? If so, which system and when? This is unclear whether the question pertains to hardware or software or both. We currently have no hardware (servers) hosted at CAPCOG for the website. Need to replace and ability to do so with other systems would be dependent upon budgetary resources. We make an effort to maintain best practices, but that is not always practical. 35. Question: What vendor provides the current Content Management System? When does the contract expire? CAPCOG RFP Website Redesign Q & A Page 4 of 6

5 Mighty Citizen. We pay a fee for services based at this time. 36. Question: Does the Department anticipate any additional professional or consulting services may be needed through separate procurements to accomplish this effort? (i.e. project planning/oversight, PM, QA, IV&V, staff augmentation, implementation services etc.)? If so, what services does the Department desire and how do they anticipate to procure? Not at this time. 37. Question: What vendors responded to the RFQ for Capcog.org Website Scope? Who was the contract awarded to, in what amount, and when? Mighty Citizen, Ardent Technologies, Inc., Presley Design Studio, and Infojini Inc. responded to the earlier scoping project. Presley Design performed the work for $3, in 38. Question: Approximately how many pages will be migrated over to the new website design? This is number is hard to determine, because at present, there are duplicate page entries event type items (currently the calendar and events pages are managed separately) and there are several pages generated that serve as redirects to other pages. Counting just CAPCOG s programmatic and administrational information pages there is about 170 pages to migrate; however, CAPCOG recognizes some of these pages can be combined when it has access to a wider array of design techniques. There are more than 1,600 pages located in the sites In the news, events and calendar sections. CAPCOG should be able to archive the majority of these pages. 39. Question: What is the expected timeframe/date for launching the new website? Similarly- Do you have a target date in mind for launch? If so, what is driving this date? Similarly - When do you anticipate a partner will be selected? Similarly - Is there a desired timeline for this project? If so, what is it? CAPCOG believes this would be a four to six-month project? It anticipates starting in September. 40. Question: What is most important to CAPCOG: price, time, or quality? Quality, followed by price. 41. Question: Once the project starts, who will be leading the project on the CAPCOG side? Have they ever managed a digital project like this before? There is a team which includes CAPCOG administrative staff and the IT department. And yes, IT staff have managed a digital project before. 42. Question: Who will be considered a stakeholder during the project? Stakeholders are staff and programs of CAPCOG will be participating in the project directly. Stakeholders for the CAPCOG website are more generally local elected officials, public employees seeking training or grants, state agencies and other grantor agencies, and the general public. 43. Question: On a scale of 1-10 (1 being low/10 being high), how "innovative" does CAPCOG consider itself and want to be viewed as? 6 to 7 we are government, so not cutting edge, but we are also in Austin, so there are some expectations. 44. Question: Beyond "build a more modern website", what are the project goals? How could a wellexecuted project impact CAPCOG and its employees? CAPCOG RFP Website Redesign Q & A Page 5 of 6

6 The project goals include a streamline, more visible and user-friendly way to present information to CAPCOG s stakeholders. For CAPCOG employees, the impact should improve ease of posting content and limit the duplication of the work. 45. Question: What metrics are important to CAPCOG to show "success"? While analytics and pages views are always a good form of measurement, CAPCOG has a limited audience. Knowing that people can successfully navigate through the site and find the information housed within it is the most important. Conversions on training class registrations are also a valuable metric. 46. Question: How does CAPCOG make money? N/A. CAPCOG is a public agency, and all of our funds are public funds. Most funds are restricted to the programs for which we receive grants. 47. Question: How important is SEO? SEO is always important. However, our website s purpose is to provide information publicly, and not so much to drive website traffic. 48. Question: Would CAPCOG consider a rebrand as part of this project? No. 49. Question: Does CAPCOG have any formal branding guidelines/style guides? Yes, for our use of logos and our print documents. 50. Question: Would a tool for "Alerts" be of interest to CAPCOG? Realtime information alerting our agency that someone is viewing our site is not a part of our scope. We do require s to be automatically generated to registrants who use the training website to confirm their information has been received. Alerts on issues regarding the host server would be of interest. CAPCOG RFP Website Redesign Q & A Page 6 of 6