RFP: CCC/RFP/06/02/2022

A. BACKGROUND

1. The COMESA Competition Commission (“the Commission”) is a regional body corporate established under Article 6 of the COMESA Competition Regulations 2004 (“the Regulations”) promulgated under Article 55 of the Treaty Establishing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. The Commission has the legal capacity required for the performance of its functions under the Regulations in the territory of each COMESA Member State.

2. The Commission commenced its operations on 14th January 2013 and is located in Lilongwe, Malawi. The Commission’s core mandate is to promote and encourage competition by preventing restrictive business practices and other restrictions that deter the efficient operation of markets, thereby enhancing the welfare of the consumers in the Common Market, and to protect consumers against offensive conduct by market actors. The main functions of the Commission are to monitor markets and investigate anti-competitive business practices, control mergers and other forms of acquisitions in the Common Market and mediate disputes between the Member States concerning anti-competitive conduct.

3. The Commission’s website (https://comesacompetition.org/) is one of the organization’s key communication and outreach tools which was developed in 2011 and redesigned in 2014 with WordPress platform. Currently, website which is in use is in need of updating and is hosted on an external server. The Commission intends to update and enhance the functionality of the current website through an improved mobile-responsive design, interactive functionality, and a more user-friendly Content Management System (CMS). In this regard, the Commission invites suitably qualified firms to submit financial and technical proposals in line with this RFP.

B. SCOPE OF WORK

4. The Commission seeks a complete website redesign of its site https://comesacompetition.org/. The redesign of the website includes the following:

4.1. Provide and describe the approach for redesigning the website and provide information on how the project would be phased and managed including timed deliverables.

4.2. Undertake a needs assessment of the Commission’s website redesign through consultation with the Commission.

4.3. Provide a Business Requirement Document (BRD) of the Commission’s website based on the needs assessment.

4.4. Propose the design of website to the Commission.

4.5. Design the website based on the needs assessment conducted.

4.6. Submit the proposed design of the website to the Commission for review and incorporate feedback from the Commission.

4.7. Conduct a test of the approved website in the presence of the Commission.

4.8. Address the comments from the Commission on the test of the website.

4.9. Train and present the features of the website to the Commission’s relevant personnel and Management.

4.10. Launch the website (go live) following the validation of the test site by the Commission

4.11. Provide a manual on the features and management of the website

5. The Commission shall evaluate the proposed website presented by the Bidder and determine whether it is in line with the objectives, requirements, expectations, and task details outlined under Section 3 and 4 below. The Commission shall retain the rights to the designed and developed website and any customization of plug-ins. The Bidder shall submit a report in each phase of the assignment which shall be validated after consultation with the Commission.

C. OBJECTIVE, REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTED OUTPUTS

Objective

6. The Commission is seeking to develop an enhanced, visually appealing website that is mobile-responsive, easy to navigate and provides the depth and breadth of current information that our stakeholders seek about our programs and services.

7. The requirements for the new site shall include but is not limited to the following:

7.1. Updated platform, functionality, navigation, and design

7.2. Mobile-responsive design

7.3. User-friendly Content Management System (CMS) with training for editors/users.

7.4. Advanced and fast “Search” functionality.

7.5. Website security and firewall

Desired Expectations

8. The website is expected to have the following functionality and tools:

8.1. Clean, clutter-free, modern design aligned with the Commission’s brand (which mainly consists of Commission’s logo, logo colours)

8.2. Clear, easy-to-use navigation

8.3. Mobile-responsive design optimized for all common internet browsers

8.4. Optimized design documents, videos, and images for fast loading

8.5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with ability to add search engine plug-in to administrative area

8.6. Robust, user-friendly CMS, which shall:

8.6.1. Be used by the Commission’s personnel to maintain and update the site, including access to all content for editing, uploading documents and creating new pages and links

8.6.2. Allow at least three editors from the Commission

8.6.3. Include functionality to schedule release of pages

8.6.4. Include functionality to broaden the Commission’s website to include a link to multiple portals e.g., staff email, e-filing

8.6.5. Allow news, Notices & Hearings features with searchable archives and functionality to schedule release of articles and reorder how they appear on the page

8.6.6. Accommodate varied content such as images, videos, spreadsheets, maps

8.6.7. Incorporate tools for tracking page/file updates and deletions

8.7. Integration of existing “CVS database” feed to display on website “Notify Me” functionality-subscribe for email updates and push out notifications

8.8. Store all submissions to a database created for automatic archiving which can be retrieved and analysed

8.9. Input to add internal “Search” functionality

8.10. Operate as a dynamic database drive website that generates analyses/briefs and display on actions the editors make on the page

8.11. Print-friendly feature on each page

8.12. Social media integration on each page to the Commission’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc

8.13. Photos-Easy to load and display; mobile-responsive photo gallery; Flickr integration

8.14. Ensure security using firewall web application

8.15. Load the content of the Commission rules and regulations on the website with advanced search functionality

8.16. Provide domain email for the Commission

8.17. Any other functions connected or incidental to the foregoing, such as allow users the ability to customise cookie setting. Include a page explaining how user information may be stored/used when they access the website.

D. TASK DETAILS

Phase One

9. Refine scope and technical specification

9.1. Define website functionality

Note: The Commission is currently using WordPress as the platform; however, the Commission will consider similar open-source tools that can easily manage website content, unlimited pages, and posts as a possible option with a well-supported and successful track record and high adoption rate with similar organizations.

Phase Two

9.2. Design

9.2.1. The Consultant will design two (2) concepts for homepage and up to two (2) internal/secondary pages to be reviewed by the Commission with up to three (3) revisions to the chosen design.

9.3. Development

9.3.1. The Consultant will use approved design and development platform (including the CMS) to build the site. The CMS will be presented, vetted and approved by the Commission. Consultant will install navigation, set up blank pages and transfer a sample of contents for the Commission to approve. Following the approval of the site plan, a training will be provided by the Consultant to a group of administrators on the use of the CMS. Consequently, the Consultant will migrate existing and new content to the new site according to an agreed-upon timeline.

9.4. Testing

9.4.1. The Consultant will conduct comprehensive quality assurance testing on multiple browsers and mobile devices to ensure that the new site is responsive, and all functionality is fully operational.

Phase Three

9.5. Review of Website and Training

9.5.1. The Consultant will navigate the Commission through the site and demonstrate the link, page set-up, homepage and internal/secondary page layouts, and a functionality review. Further, the Consultant will conduct a training for the identified web editors at the Commission. The Consultant will provide the Commission with a user manual and site architectures. The Consultant will set up initial administrator passwords and demonstrate management of administrators and editors.

9.6. Launch

9.6.1. Following a completion of up to two rounds of punch list items, not exceeding 20 items from the training and review period, the Consulant will set up website on a hosted server and coordinate any needed changes to Domain Name Service (DNS) entries and other technical requirements to make the new site live at https://comesacompetition.org/.

Phase Four

9.7. Warranty Period

9.7.1. The warranty period covers website for 3 months (90 days) from the final approval and launch of the website during the User Acceptance Testing phase. Any defects or other service issues resulting from the development process that are brought to Consultant’s attention during this period will be fixed without charge.

E. TIMELINES AND DELIVERABLES

10. The assignment under phase one to phase three will be expected to be conducted within 180 calendar days (Six months) from the date of signing of contract. The assignment is expected to have the following outputs which shall be delivered in three phases.