Requests for Proposals (RFP): Strategic Website Support for the NDC Partnership
February 2024
SUMMARY OF PROCUREMENT
The NDC Partnership Support Unit is searching for a communications firm to provide strategic support to advance the Partnership’s brand and the impact of our diverse membership through enhancement and maintenance of the NDC Partnership’s various websites and microsites. Our aim is to communicate with our members, partners and other stakeholders in a clear and compelling manner to increase our brand recognition and visibility as a leader in advancing global climate action in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Agenda. This vendor will be responsible for the maintenance and continued improvements of the NDC Partnership’s website and microsites in line with established branding and messaging.
For this project, the vendor will be contracted directly through the World Resources Institute (WRI). The contract will be set as an open contract, where individual work orders will be issued before work begins. Compensation will be based upon the work negotiated in each individual work order, which will detail separate scopes of work, deliverables and budgets. There will be a fixed price work order for monthly administration of the hosting environment and maintenance (including server and security updates, network services, technical support services, performance improvement, bug fixing among other activities specified below in this Request for Proposals) as well as ad-hoc cost reimbursement work orders for the development of new functionalities. The contract will extend to 31 December 2026. Proposals along with all requirements should be submitted by 29 February 2024.
This vendor will work closely with the NDC Partnership Support Unit’s Outreach & Governance team, specifically: the Deputy Director of Outreach & Governance, Communications Manager, Communications Coordinator, Writer and Visual Media Specialist; in addition, this position will work closely with the Knowledge & Learning and Country Engagement teams, as needed. This vendor will provide strategic support across the following scopes of work below.
About the NDC Partnership
The NDC Partnership brings together more than 200 members, including more than 120 countries, developed and developing, and more than 80 institutions to create and deliver on ambitious climate action that helps achieve the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Governments identify their NDC implementation priorities and the type of support that is needed to translate them into actionable policies and programs. Based on these requests, the membership offers a tailored package of expertise, technical assistance, and funding. This collaborative response provides developing countries with efficient access to a wide range of resources to adapt to and mitigate climate change and foster more equitable and sustainable development.
The Partnership’s work is facilitated by a Support Unit hosted by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, DC and the UNFCCC Secretariat and UNOPS in Bonn, Germany. This work will be contracted through WRI and will engage primarily with Support Unit staff in the Washington, DC office, but will have some interaction with Support Unit staff in the Bonn, Germany office and may interact with other consultants/vendors located around the world.
OVERVIEW
The NDC Partnership website serves as a resource for current and prospective members, as well as a general climate-informed and technical audience. The site provides general information on the work and impact of the NDC Partnership, contains a live Country Action map that provides information about every country’s climate action around the world, and hosts a unique learning platform, the NDC Partnership Knowledge Portal.
The Knowledge Portal is NDC Partnership’s primary platform for publicly sharing good practices, tools, platforms, finance opportunities and other resources related to NDC implementation and enhancement and sustainable development.
Current open-source and searchable modules of the Knowledge Portal include the following:
• Climate Toolbox: a database of tools, resources, and advisory support
• Good Practice Database: a database of country case studies and examples pf good practice from climate action design and NDC implementation
• Climate Funds Explorer: a database of open, public international climate funding opportunities
• Climate Finance Bulletin: a repository of open, time-bound climate funding opportunities and calls for proposals for countries and implementing partners
• Explore NDC Content: a page pulling in Climate Watch data on countries’ NDCs and historical emissions, allowing users to explore global trends via a map and to assess key details of countries’ submitted NDCs
For more detailed information about the Knowledge Portal, please see the Annex.
In addition, the Partnership maintains five microsites for specific projects and initiatives, as well as its annual interactive report, the Partnership in Action (PiA) website, including:
• The 2021 Partnership in Action (PiA) site;
• The 2022 Partnership in Action (PiA) site;
• The 2023 Partnership in Action (PiA) site;
• The 2024 Partnership in Action (PiA) site (to be determined); and
• The Climate Action Enhancement Package (CAEP) site.
SCOPE OF WORK AND ACTIVITIES
Scope 1: Ongoing Website Maintenance & Security
The Partnership’s main site is built in Drupal 9 (D9) and each microsite is built in WordPress; the main site and each microsite will require both routine maintenance and security updates, including:
• Server environment and security updates, including overseeing Drupal and WordPress updates and ensuring security standards are met;
• Implementation of clean user-friendly views and CMS, and staff training on new CMS for basic website maintenance and updates;
• Performance improvements (e.g., scalability, load times, low bandwidth
performance, analysis completion); and Work under this Scope of Work will be compensated on a fixed price basis per month. It is estimated that approximately 20+ hours of support is needed per month for this Scope of Work. This may change, and the NDC Partnership will rely on its vendor to make recommendations on any additional updates, deliverables, and timelines, as needed.
Scope 2: Ongoing Website Development & Design
The NDC Partnership’s main website will require design changes to refresh the look and feel of the site in line with the Partnership’s evolving branding and messaging, including:
• Project Management, including scheduling and attending meetings, answering client questions and email and invoicing and contracting.
• Providing strategic guidance on website and microsite development and design, including building and presenting wireframes and designing icons, infographics and immersive features;
• Implementation of Google Analytics (GA) for tracking web traffic and page metrics and making informed, strategic design recommendations based on GA usage and best practices;
• Improving the design and user experience of the website, including building out dedicated modules for specific initiatives and thematic work;
• Conducting mobile compatibility assurance and quality assurance testing; and
• Routine communication, progress reports and deadline setting.
Compensation under Scope of Work 2 will be based upon the work negotiated in each individual work order. Payment will be made on a cost reimbursement basis upon submission to and approval by the NDC Partnership team of invoices and work order deliverables.
Scope 3: Ongoing Website Development & Design of the Knowledge Portal
The Knowledge Portal will require ongoing development support for distinct features, in addition to regular maintenance activities. This may include activities such as the following:
• Deployment of an email subscription feature to enable users to sign up to receive custom updates when new entries are added to the Climate Finance Bulletin
• Development of a Google Analytics Dashboard for the Knowledge Portal to enable better understanding of the types of users visiting the Portal, their details, and page browsing patterns.
• Potential incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies into the Knowledge Portal systems, such as for knowledge organization and content generation, following completion of scoping exercises by the Support Unit
• Support updates to Knowledge Portal content download features, including a French language download of the Climate Funds Explorer funding opportunity data
• Regular maintenance and bug fixes to the Knowledge Portal and its modules, as needed
Compensation under Scope of Work 3 will be based upon the work negotiated in each individual work order. Payment will be made on a cost reimbursement basis upon submission to and approval by the NDC Partnership team of invoices and work order deliverables.
Scope 4: Build of the 2024 and 2025 Partnership in Action (PiA) Microsites
The vendor will build the 2024 and 2025 Partnership in Action (PiA) Microsites, using the existing 2023 PiA microsite to inform development and design. The scope of work will include:
• Building and presenting a concept proposal for the 2024 and 2025 microsite in line with the 2023 microsite and the Partnership’s brand;
• Build wireframes and design a new suite of icons, infographics and immersive features, as needed;
• Improve the design and user experience of the PiA microsite; and
• Conduct mobile compatibility assurance and quality assurance testing.
Compensation under Scope of Work 4 will be based upon the work negotiated in the concept proposal for each microsite. Payment will be made on a cost reimbursement basis upon submission to and approval by the NDC Partnership team of invoices and work order deliverables.
The scopes of work on the website and microsites are based on the current and anticipated needs of the NDC Partnership Support Unit. These may change, and the NDC Partnership will rely on its vendor to make recommendations on any additional updates, deliverables, and timelines, as needed. Please see below for the specific deliverables, activities, and timelines.
Scope 5: Build of NDC Update Guidance
The vendor will integrate and develop and online, interactive version of the NDC
Partnership’s NDC Update Guidance into the NDC Partnership website. This tool is currently under development with a third-party vendor; this vendor will need to integrate and implement existing wireframes into the NDC Partnership website in coordination with the existing vendor and Support Unit staff. The tool will help users easily navigate the Guidance including posting additional partner guidance and support available to users.
Compensation under Scope of Work 5 will be based upon the work negotiated in each individual work order. Payment will be made on a cost reimbursement basis upon submission to and approval by the NDC Partnership team of invoices and work order deliverables.
Scope 6: Build of Climate Investment Planning and Mobilization Framework
The vendor will build an online interactive version of the NDC Partnership’s Investment
Planning and Mobilization Framework. The tool will be user- friendly and will include more details than the PDF Framework, including links to resources, TOR templates, and additional guidance as relevant.
Compensation under Scope of Work 6 will be based upon the work negotiated in each individual work order. Payment will be made on a cost reimbursement basis upon submission to and approval by the NDC Partnership team of invoices and work order deliverables.
