Description of the goods or services required
This tender is for the procurement of services to develop a website and phone app in support of a new project delivered by Keep Wales Tidy and the Woodland trust.
There are two lots with in this tender and we are asking contracts to tender for either or both.
The funding for the project is not yet in place though is expected to be in June so this is a speculative process though the best tender will be notified before June and appointed once the funding is in place.
Introduction
Hedgerows and earth banks, along with associated linear woodland features and important ancient trees, are an integral part of our rural landscapes – and date back in some cases many centuries and even millennia. The Long Forest project has been set up to stimulate interest in these green monuments, many of which are older than nearby buildings. Unfortunately because of farm intensification and modem management practices hedges are in a poor state. Through this project we will raise awareness of hedgerows’ importance by engagement, outreach, education, training and learning, as well as through practical restoration work to ensure hedgerows and their heritage is better understood, valued and conserved by landowners, the public and businesses.
To address this Keep Wales Tidy (KWT) in partnership with the Woodland Trust (WT) have secured funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to develop and run the Long Forest Project: a community and business engagement project aimed at protecting and improving the condition of hedgerows and other linear woodland features in Wales, through practical conservation work, outreach and education and engagement. It is imperative that we develop a very strong and engaging identity with any online presence and publicity. KWT and WT are now drawing to the end of a 13 month development phase, which started in February 2015 and will run until March 2016, at which point a second round application for a 3 year delivery phase will be submitted. If successful, the delivery phase would commence around June 2016 and run for at least three years. The work will be delivered by a central team who will provide resources that can be accessed by everyone and then more intensive work in four ‘Target Areas’.
1.4 Aims/Outcomes:
A. Improve the heritage and enhanced landscape character
Improved habitat for wildlife through the better management of hedgerows and planting, thus creating a resilient landscape in which vulnerable species can cope with climatic changes. Improved records for ecologists will help prioritisation of scarce resources and the work will support a wide range of WG policies and initiatives whilst influence policy by demonstration practical implementation of the project.
B. Improve understanding of the value of hedgerows
Increased awareness of the historical and cultural value of hedgerows amongst: community groups, children, history groups, landowners, NGOs, politicians and business interests will lead to an understanding of the threats, development of new skills and more coordinated policies and programmes to survey, record, restore and celebrate this important heritage asset.
C. Wider community benefits
Increased participation will result in volunteers acquiring improved health and well-being as well as new skills and learning. Encouraging a wide range of groups to take part will foster greater social cohesion and by developing sponsorship opportunities for businesses we will raise their profile and boost local economies’. Hedgerows are vitally important for a range of EU protected species and are important for many others as they provide nesting opportunities, food, shelter from the weather and protection from predation.
1.5 Delivery themes
There are two main heritage aspects to the project with which the objectives will be delivered:
Wildlife Heritage: Hedgerows are the unsung heroes of the British landscape. Through agricultural intensification and urban expansion the countryside has become fragmented with isolated pockets of habitat. It’s the hedges that form a green chain around the land linking up these pockets allowing all manner of species to move between important sites; strengthening populations and affording them the chance to change and adapt to pressures such as shifting weather patterns, habitat removal and changing management practices. Not only do hedges protect species traversing around the countryside, reducing the chances of predation, the also act as way-markers and highways to help in navigation, provide nesting opportunities and are the larders of the countryside with a wealth of berries, nuts, edible leaves and flowers for pollinators. The 1995 UK Biodiversity Action Plan for hedges stated that more than 600 plant species, 1,500 insects, 65 birds and 20 mammals have been associated with hedges, which we now know as being a vast underestimation. Of these species 130 are Biodiversity Action Plan species and of these a significant proportion are section 42 species (species under significant threat of extinction).
Cultural Heritage: the cultural aspects are also far reaching and significant. Hedges of sorts were used by some of the earliest settlers to keep animals out of an enclosure and then, with the advent of farming, to keep animals in. During this time hedges were used as a defensive structure against attack. Hedges came into their own with the advent of the enclosure acts, giving rise to parish boundaries to delineate properties and to split fields into manageable units. As well as this hedges are steeped in folk law and tradition; drovers used to travel hundreds of miles around the country with valuable stock using the hedges as shelter and food. The general population would also have used hedges for food for themselves and fodder for farm animals, remedies for ailments and a source of material for buildings and fuel.
The project will be delivered through practical conservation action on the ground in four priority areas: Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Anglesey and the North East (consisting of Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham). A significant part of project will be dedicated to indirect heritage action such as putting together tool kits for groups, communications and engagement plans and surveys. A large part of this will be done through online resources through a website and phone app
Tender lots
2.1 Phone app development (Lot 1)
2.1.1 Overview
At present we know little about the condition of hedgerows in Wales. GIS remote sensing information available through the WT and NRW is comprehensive but could be as little as 60% or as great as 90% accurate and tells us nothing about the actual condition or species composition of the hedgerow. Although valuable information can be inferred from the data to target any further survey efforts, it is important that we get boots on the ground and valuable scientifically sound records coming in.
To do this we are proposing a phone app to allow the general public, trained volunteers and paid professionals to record hedges using the Hedgerow Evaluation and Grading System, HEGS, (see appendix 3). HEGS is the simplest methodology for recording hedges but is robust enough to stand up to scrutiny so will appeal to the widest range of users possible. Ultimately the phone app needs to enable the user to simply and systematically go through the HEGS whilst also recording the location and potentially the hedge start and finish point on the survey.
We imagine the phone app being ready for use early on in the project but that further refinements will be needed to ensure the app is usable to as wide an audience as possible
2.1.2 Base Maps:
It is our understanding that for surveyors to record a survey they must first download one or more selected tiles (maps), this would allow the surveyor to accurately locate a hedge, field, path or road and then record the survey against the feature. The base maps must be downloaded when the device is in service though the app must allow the survey to be stored on the phone in case of a drop in signal. As the maps will need to show some details such as major and minor roads, houses and boundaries as well as hedges it is important that the right maps be used. An expensive paid for service such as OS isn’t sustainable for the project and therefore would like contractors to detail the relative suggestions preference for consideration.
2.1.3 Data transfer:
Because of the field based nature of the survey the surveyor may well be in a rural location and out of mobile phone signal, limiting downloads and uploading, therefore it is important that the app can work on and offline. If there is no signal the phone will have to store survey information until a time when signal strength is sufficient enough to allow data transfer obviously if the phone is in signal when the survey is complete then the data should be sent immediately.
It is important that the data sent is in a format which can be readily configured for the website and interpreted by staff.
The app should include limits to the amount of offline base mapping that can be stored and warnings to prevent users from downloading large amounts of base mapping with an easy option of deleting tiles which are no long needed
2.1.4 Design:
The phone app needs to function seamlessly, be visually appealing and engaging to encourage The Long Forest project will have its own brand and logo but the site will need to take account of the emerging Keep Wales Tidy brand
2.1.5 Platform and CMS
We require detailed information on contractors preferred platform if this be bespoke or open-source, if the platform is to be purpose build it’s important that KWT owns the license. We envisage the survey information being sent to a database which would then talk to the website so we require information on how the app would format data to enable this
2.1.6 Summary of points
So in response to this tender we would like to see visual and technical information on the following with costs and timings broken down for each, resulting in an app that will:
• Be bilingual
• Engage and encourage recordings from all levels of ability, from ‘toe-dippers’ to ‘seasoned, scientific recorders’ and to create an engaging conversion funnel
• Allow multiple map tiles to be downloaded for surveying with limit warnings
• Function on and off line
• Allow geo locating/way finding
• Gather user information either directly through a registration process or via social media such as Facebook.
• Upload data instantly or regularly to a secure place on the website for verification
• Work on both iOS and Android™ taking into consideration the range of versions and potential updates
• Be designed for a minimum screen size of 4 inches up to a maximum size of 10 inches. This will allow it to work on a range of devices, from phones through to tablets, but not on phones with very small screens that would reduce the functionality possible.
• Have a minimum specification for mobile devices of 1 GB RAM and 500 MB free storage for offline maps.
• Include the design of a simple plant identification tool (photos to be compiled by KWT)
• The app should allow for the upload of photographs of features of interest, this may need to include an automatic downsizing or compression before sending to limit the time it takes to send.
• Allow the user to select the option of exiting the app at the end of the survey to record ancient trees through a separate Woodland Trust App
• Be deployed on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
• Provision should be made for ongoing support to ensure its compatible with future devices and platforms for 3 years
2.1.7 Delivery timetable
Initial startup meeting Week commencing 6th June 2016
Initial ideas Week commencing 13th June 2016
Presentation of initial work and mockups:
Week commencing 4th July 2016
Working app for internal testing:
August 2016
App published ready for advertising:
March 2017
Review of app and changes:
June 2017
2.1.11 Budgets
We expect the phone app will continue to develop during the course of the HLF funded project to encourage and enable more users to access the app though this will mostly take the form of slight alterations to simplify the workflow. The main budgetary considerations for this phase of the work will cover:
a. Audience analysis, user experience and journeys
b. Design, look and feel
c. Digital interpretation of brand
d. Integration into Keep Wales Tidy’s content management system or building of core content management system
We envisage the budget for the app being in re region of £15,000 - £30,000 though we are open to suggestions either above or below this range
2.2 Website development Lot 2
2.2.1 Overview
The website will act as the main interface with the public and participants as well as a portal for information for a spectrum of end users (see section 1.6) interested in a range of topics. It will therefore need to be engaging, easy and intuitive to navigate and set up in a clear and logical order. To encourage visits and re visits and to engender a feel good and proactive mentality the site will need to be visually very strong and fun with the ability to display videos, high quality images and enable staff and volunteers to contribute via social media such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as enabling participants to be able to download tool kits and work plans. It is essential that the partners have the ability to update and add to the website to ensure the project is low cost and sustainable for the duration of the funding and well beyond. We would also like to have the ability to generate income from the sale of services as well as the potential for advertising.
The site could be a sub domain of the Keep Wales Tidy with a separate Url address accessed directly as well as through the Keep Wales Tidy website. Alternatively the Long Forest website could be a standalone site using a separate CMS, available options and cost will dictate which.
The website will need to communicate with the Long Forest phone app survey, allowing continued updates and information flow. Data from the phone app will need to be displayed on a map once records have been verified (see section 2.2.8)
Browser support should extend to Internet Explorer 9+, Firefox, Chrome and Safari, including those running on smartphones and tablets.
2.2.2 Format and design
The site should ideally use a responsive design that renders well on smaller screens such as smartphones. It is likely that anything from 10% to 50% of site traffic will be from tablets and smartphones. It may not be necessary to make all functionality work on all devices and sizes, so long as performance degrades and changes gracefully with explanations for the user.
2.2.1 Design:
The website needs to function seamlessly, be visually appealing and engaging to encourage use and reuse. The Long Forest project will have its own brand and logo but the site will need to take account of the emerging Keep Wales Tidy brand
2.2.2 Responsive design
In addition, mobile compatibility is known to affect Google search results, with mobile compatible websites appearing higher in the results in searches from mobile devices (Gilbertson 2015). The use of responsive design may therefore improve the profile of the Long Forest website.
2.2.3 External links:
Links to external sites must open in a new tab so that once the user has finished they return to the Long Forest pages. The Long Forest website must include links to the Long Forest survey app on the Google and Apple app stores as well as a selection of other non KWT apps, probably via third party websites. It should also link to existing online plant identification services to assist people struggling to identify a hedgerow plant. As well as this it is key that partner organisations are clearly displayed with easy and logical links to their websites
2.2.4 Platform and CMS
We require detailed information on contractors preferred platform and how the website would be integrated into the Keep Wales Tidy existing CMS or the building of a separate CMS system and how this would communicate with the app directly or via a database.
2.2.5 Analysis tools:
Allow comprehensive and instant analysis tools to monitor the website traffic and the effectiveness of elements of the site.
2.2.6 Content change and update
Our aspirations for the Long Forest website demand a reasonable level of content change so update could be high. Newsfeeds, blogs and social media all require frequent updates so systems should be considered to enable this with minimal support from the contractor. It is likely that a newsfeed, blog or similar dissemination mechanism will be a significant part of the website.
2.2.7 Access and Permissions
We envisage permissions being;
Limited - (unknown users) records would need to be held and verified by project staff before use, a participant could be elevated to partial access once confidence has grown in the individual and their abilities.
Partial access - (known and trusted) records would need to be held and verified by project staff though less stringently because of a known history with the project. Partial access people could also be invited to contribute to other parts of the website such as Blogs, Tweets, and information though again any information would need to be checked and verified before publishing.
Partial administration - For staff and (potential) volunteers with administrative access to some of the site to enable them to enter, verify and change contents
Full administration - For staff with full administration to the while site enabling them to enter data, verify records and change content and as well as checking traffic and statistics
2.2.8 Summary of points
In response to this tender we would like to see visual and technical information on the following with costs and timings broken down for each point, resulting in a website that will:
• Be bilingual
• Allow a KWT administrator to add headings easily and freely
• Have sections for social media
• Be visually appealing taking into consideration the Long Forest and Keep Wales Tidy brands
• Be easy and intuitive to navigate
• Display live interactive and up-to-date hedgerow survey information from the phone app and potentially other sources
• Allow quick transfer of information between the phone app, website and other interested organisations with appropriate API systems
• The ability for Keep Wales Tidy to store and retrieve personal and scientific data from individual recorders in a format that allows easy provision to third parties.
• Have a non-public holding area for the verification of records
• Have systems in place to allow veering levels of administration
• Allow YouTube type videos to be displayed with minimal buffering issues
2.2.9 Budgets
We expect the website to cost in the range of £20,000 – £30,000 but we are open to sensible tenders either above or below this range.
We see the main budgetary constraints as follows;
a. Audience analysis, user experience and journeys
b. Design, look and feel
c. Digital interpretation of brand
d. Integration into Keep Wales Tidy’s content management system or building of core content management system
2.2.10 Delivery timetable
Initial startup meeting Week commencing 6th June 2016
Initial ideas Week commencing 13th June 2016
Presentation of initial work and mockup:
Week commencing 4th July 2016
Working test website:
Week commencing 25th July 2016
Working website ready and online:
Week commencing 15th August 2016
Review of website and costed changes February 2017
NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=39741.
|