BRANDING RFP ISSUED BY SOUTH CAROLINA PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICT
The primary objectives and goals of the website redesign are as follows: 3.2.1 Interactive and Engaging Website – We are seeking to redesign our website to include an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that allows residents, visitors and business partners to complete their tasks quickly and easily regardless of the device they are using. The solution should also be easy to maintain for our administrators and content creators, streamline business operations and increase productivity.
3.2.2 Purpose of our New Website – Our new site should:
• Serve the needs of all users by letting them easily find what they are seeking, providing them with access to key services on a 24×7 basis, allowing them to share information and interact with our staff.
Background:
The following information should be used to determine the scope of this project and provide pricing for this engagement. Further details can be provided upon request. The South Carolina Public Charter School District (SCPCSD), a statewide charter school authorizer now 15 years in existence, is looking to accelerate its improvement and impact through the creation of a refreshed website design. While South Carolina Public Charter School District (SCPCSD) sponsored charter schools have made significant gains in recent years, earning a record-high graduation rate, there is still much to be done to improve education and close achievement gaps in South Carolina Public Charter School District (SCPCSD) charter schools. Students of color and poverty still lag behind their peers and charter school performance remains mixed. The district has come a long way in recent years and can build on this momentum by solidifying its key strategic levers and its mission and vision. We are seeking a strategic partner who can help us refresh our website and set the course for game-changing work in South Carolina over the next 5-10 years.
Scope of Work:
• Promote transparency of our school district by making it easy for us to share and post information, and for our users to find and interact with the information.
• Represent or brand our district for staff, families, scholars, businesses and elected officials, and showcase our district in a way that highlights why this is a great educational choice for South Carolina’s families.
• Provide a pleasant and delightful experience to all users by making it easy for them to complete their tasks or find what they want in a straightforward manner.
• Be strategic and nimble, and focus on making our content useful, interactive and engaging. We know that things will change in the future, and we want our site to adapt and remain relevant.
3.2.3 Consumers – We take a broad customer-centric view of our district since we view anyone who visits our website or district as a customer. Our website is our digital front door, and our goal is to focus on the needs of our customers, and on improving our interactions and engagement with our customer base.
3.2.4 Strategic Partnership – We want a vendor partner who understands the K-12 education market, who will help guide us to where we want to be today, and provide ongoing services and support to keep us there in the future.
3.2.5 Research Based Design – We want a site that meets the unique needs of our district, and are not looking for a cookie-cutter or templated solution. Our vendor should employ a strategic research-based and data-driven process to gather input, define expectations and design a consistent, user-friendly navigation framework for the website that meets the needs of all users.
3.2.6 Responsive Site – Visitors to our site will utilize a wide variety of devices to access our website, including computers, tablets and mobile smart phones. Our new website should automatically detect the screen resolution of any device and respond with a view of the site that is optimized specifically for that screen. This will ensure that all users will be able to view our site, no matter what device they are using.
3.2.7 Accessible Site – Our new website should comply with World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (Level AA compliance) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In addition, the vendor should follow best practices, voluntary standards and guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), and train our users in creating accessible content.
3.2.8 Flexible Solution – The new site should build upon proven and accepted RFP – Redesign, Development and Hosting of the {South Carolina Public Charter School District} Website website development standards while maintaining flexibility to easily grow and add new functionality over time and with minimal cost. The solution should also accommodate existing auxiliary department sites to maintain a unique look and feel, but share overall infrastructure and features.
3.2.9 Evolutionary SaaS Solution – The vendor’s hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) content management solution (CMS) should be in a state of constant evolution and improvement. The annual subscription fee should cover ongoing support plus regular monthly updates and improvements to existing features of the CMS and incorporate new enhancements and features over time. This will enable us to adapt to an evolving marketplace and for our site to continually meet our customers’ needs.
3.2.10 Simplify and Streamline Administration – The solution should:
• Simplify website administration, allowing users of all skill levels to update assigned sections of the website.
• Streamline business operations and reduce the amount of time that IT spends on enhancing and maintaining the site.
3.2.11 Visual identity and design, which will include:
• Brand Positioning – The vendor will develop the brand messaging and language to be used for the District, including how the district presents itself and how the organization’s programs and services are described and identified. As part of this process, a simple document will be produced for internal purposes to clarify brand positioning by identifying for example, the brand essence, character, brand promise, key brand messages, audiences perceptions, and competitive position.
• Visual Identity Design The vendor will create a brand visual identity based on the knowledge obtained through the branding and communications strategy process.
The District’s preference is to present a final set of three (3) with a minimum of two (2) options that clearly and creatively reflect and present how and why the district invests in all the audiences it serves and wants to serve.
• Brand Hierarchy The District brand will be the primary brand for the organization. Under that primary brand, there may be a need for sub-brands for individual departments or specific marketing requirements. These sub-brands need to be consistent with the primary brand, and the vendor will be expected to provide recommendations on how best to accomplish this.
• Visual Identity Guidelines The visual identity guidelines document (or “Brand Book”) will specify, articulate, and depict the defining elements of the visual identity system and provide examples for marketing communications materials. For budgeting purposes, we are suggesting the following items to be included:
o Brand creative parameters (i.e. fonts, design styles, photo styles, color palette, etc.) o Acceptable and unacceptable uses of the brand
o Permission guidelines for logo use o Samples of how the brand could be applied to website and social media pages.
Due Date:
5 p.m. on May 18, 2021.
Address:
Taylor Fulcher Deputy Superintendent (Authorizing) South Carolina Public Charter School District tfulcher@sccharter.org 803-908-3849
Relevant agencies to consider include Coyne PR and Edelman PR.
