Affordable Housing Website
Request for Proposals

In accordance with the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA), the information on this document is available in an alternative format upon request received by this office. Equal Opportunity Employer/Program.

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

A. PURPOSE

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is intended to produce an interactive "Regional Housing" website as an initiative of the Grand Traverse Area Housing Task Force. The goal of the website is to provide a one-stop shop for the most up-to-date information about available affordable housing units for purchase or rent in the five-county region, and to disseminate program and eligibility information regarding housing assistance and supportive services. This website is a place for all regional housing, human services and community development organizations to share information about and promote housing programs and properties.

This RFP provides the interested WEBSITE DESIGNER, hereafter referred to as "consultant", with specific information concerning the scope of work to be performed. This RFP provides sufficient information to enable the consultant to prepare and submit a proposal for consideration by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments (NWMCOG), using a collaboratively formed Consultant Selection Committee/Steering Committee, consisting of Housing Task Force committee members.

KEY OUTCOMES:

1. Implementation of a website for use by the public and key housing stakeholders.

2. The final website should include the following key components:

• Multiple pages organized into 5 sections/tabs with an additional welcome page. Pages will include text, graphics and links to other websites.
• Login for agencies to update contact and program information and "showcased" properties.
• Revolving "showcase" (sidebar advertising space) for currently available affordable homes.
• "What am I eligible for?" drop-down menu that produces a list of housing agencies and programs.
• "What can I afford?" calculators for mortgage/rental payments (either downloadable or integrated with site).
• Downloadable budget worksheets and program guides
• Map of housing agencies.
• Print-friendly pages, especially eligibility search results.

3. A critical component of this website will be the ability of several different agencies' staff to easily update database entries with new programs, eligibility requirements and contact information.

4. The ability for this website to be integrated with the Community Housing Choices website, which is designed in Dreamweaver. A separate "Regional Housing" domain name (to be determined) will direct users to a portal on the Community Housing Choices website.
5. The website will have excellent placement in search engine results (through the purchase of Google AdWords and/or other placement services.)

6. The ability for Flight Path Creative to host the website.

B. TYPE OF CONTRACT

Initial cost projections estimate the value of this project to be approximately $3,000. Consultants should consider this funding stipulation when preparing their technical proposal, schedule and cost proposal. The contract selection will be the result of a qualifications based selection process using the proposal and evaluation criteria set forth in "Proposal Evaluation and Award Criteria" Section of this RFP.

It is estimated that the contract length for this project will be approximately 4 months. If a contract is entered into as a result of this RFP, it will include all materials, tasks and costs necessary to complete the project and produce the website.

This project shall be considered Work For Hire (WFH) and NWMCOG shall be the sole copyright owner of the work. All materials, files, etc., which are created, shall become the property of NWMCOG.

C. ISSUING OFFICE

This RFP is issued by NWMCOG. NWMCOG and the Consultant Selection Committee will be responsible for the selection of the consultant. NWMCOG will be represented by Sarah Lucas as the Project Manager. Inquiries concerning the administration of the contract and consultant selection for the project must only be directed to:

Northwest Michigan Council of Governments
P.O. Box 506
Traverse City, MI 49685
Attn: Sarah Lucas, Regional Planner
E-mail: sarahlucas@nwm.cog.mi.us
Phone: 231.929.5034

Respondents are strongly encouraged to identify concerns, issues, or questions that should be considered by the issuing agency. Verbal inquiries or requests for information shall not be made to other staff or representatives of participating agencies. Any attempt on the part of any consultant or any of its employees, agents or representatives to contact anyone other than the party listed above regarding this RFP, will lead to disqualification.

D. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

To be considered, consultants must submit a complete response to this RFP based upon the scope of work and all other requirements indicated in this RFP. Within their proposal, the consultant must also indicate the relative percentage of the total project budget that will be spent on distinct proposal elements.

The consultant will submit one electronic or unbound copy of the technical proposal to the issuing office by 4:00 p.m. on the December 5, 2008, due date. In addition, one cost proposal must be submitted separately from the technical proposal in a sealed envelope clearly marked "Price Proposal", with the consultant identified on the front of the envelope.

E. PRE-PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

All questions related to this RFP shall be directed to Sarah Lucas at the issuing office.

F. COST LIABILITY

NWMCOG is not liable for any cost associated with the preparation of the proposal or any other costs incurred by any contractor prior to the execution of the contract.

G. ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL CONTENT

The contents of the proposal of the successful consultant shall become contractual obligations if a contract ensues. Failure of the successful consultant to accept these obligations may result in cancellation of the award.

H. INDEPENDENT PRICE DETERMINATION

A proposal will not be considered for award if the price in the proposal was not arrived at independently without collusion, consultation, communication, or agreement as to any matter relating to such prices with any other bidder or with any other competitor.

The consultant must include a certified statement in the proposal certifying that the price was arrived at without any conflict of interest as described in the paragraph above. Should a conflict of interest be detected any time during the contract, the contract shall be null and void and the consultant shall assume all costs of this project until such time as a new consultant is selected.

I. SIGNATURE REQUIRED

The proposal must be signed by an authorized agent to bind the contractor to its provisions. The proposal must remain valid for a period of at least 45 days from the due date of submission.

II. BACKGROUND

A. PROBLEM STATEMENT/HISTORY

The Housing Task Force is a network of regional housing stakeholders staffed by the NWMCOG. The network meets quarterly to share information about housing-related issues in the five-county region.

A concern of the Housing Task Force is the lack of a user-friendly resource available for those individuals that need housing assistance or are looking for affordable housing opportunities. There are several stagnant resource lists, but there isn't a significant, comprehensive web resource or a single point of contact for people seeking housing assistance. To fill this gap, at the September 2008 meeting, the Housing Task Force created a subcommittee and charged it with the task of developing a comprehensive housing website.

The Housing Task Force subcommittee met in late September to begin identifying the components of the website. It was decided that the website should include a searchable database of available affordable housing units for rent and for sale. The subcommittee identified the Michigan Housing Locator and the Traverse Area Association of Realtors searchable housing databases as the best online resources for finding affordable housing units for rental and purchase, respectively. The subcommittee wants to link to these well-established databases instead of reinventing the wheel by establishing another housing database for the region. Another important component of the website will be an electronic information and referral system in which the user can select personal characteristics from a drop-down menu (e.g., "I am disabled," "I am a senior citizen") and be given a list of program descriptions the user is eligible for and the respective agency contacts for those programs. Finally, the website should provide a platform through which agencies can promote themselves. In addition to the information provided through the "What am I eligible for?" menu, there should be a place on the website where housing agencies can be profiled and a select set of available housing units can be advertised/showcased.

NWMCOG currently maintains a housing website for its Community Housing Choices program (www.communityhousingchoices.org), which is a program focused on housing policy and outreach in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau Counties. The "Regional Housing" website should be integrated within the Community Housing Choices website infrastructure for purposes of maintenance, hosting, and access.

B. AVAILABLE DATA AND INFORMATION

The following background resources are available at the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments offices. This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of related resources.

• Vision to End Homelessness in the Greater
• Grand Traverse Region (2006)
• Goodwill Rental Guide
  2008 Affordable Housing & Service Resources in the 5-County Area: Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau (Grand Traverse Area Continuum of Care)

III. SCOPE OF WORK/DELIVERABLES

Candidates who submit proposals for completing this website must demonstrate their capacity to address the following scope of work and deliverables as well as other needs relevant to this study. Candidates are strongly encouraged to identify and suggest other deliverables not mentioned in the scope of work and the justification for these items that may best suit the primary objectives of this project.

A. SCOPE OF WORK

The final website should include the following key components:
• Multiple pages organized into 5 sections/tabs with an additional welcome page. Pages will include text, graphics and links to other websites.
• Login for agencies to update contact and program information and "showcased" properties.
• Revolving "showcase" (sidebar advertising space) for currently available affordable homes.
• "What am I eligible for?" drop-down menu that produces a list of housing agencies and programs.
• "What can I afford?" calculators for mortgage/rental payments (either downloadable or integrated with site).
• Downloadable budget worksheets and program guides.
• Map of housing agencies.
• Print-friendly pages, especially eligibility search results.
• Integration within Community Housing Choices website infrastructure (www.communityhousingchoices.org).

Minimum Deliverable:

1. Website approved by the Housing Task Force subcommittee and fully operational by April 1, 2009.

B. PROJECT ADMINSTRATION DELIVERABLES

At the direction of the project manager, the consultant will meet with representatives of NWMCOG and the Housing Task Force subcommittee membership at least once a month during the project. The first and last meeting will be oriented towards website kick-off and final activities; the remaining meetings will be targeted at updating the representatives about the progress of work.

The consultant will develop and provide to the Project Manager a time line of draft and final deliverables, as well as all meetings. Additionally, the consultant will update NWMCOG, through the Project Manager, on a bi-weekly basis. The consultant shall also be responsible for the preparation of all meeting agendas and materials as required.

NWMCOG will have the final approval of all project reports, billing and acceptance of the website.

The process outcome, guided by the consultant, will be a full functioning website.

C. OTHER REQUIRED DELIVERABLES

1. The website shall function in a format that focuses on a clear, easily readable and concise manner using visually appealing mediums where applicable.
2. The consultant shall conduct one training session for participating housing agencies. The purpose of the training session shall be to inform agencies of how they can bring their websites' function and content into concordance with that of the Regional Housing website.
3. The consultant shall make needed functional corrections to the Regional Housing website 6 and 12 months after the website goes live. Toward this end, NWMCOG shall contact the consultant in October 2009 and April 2010 to inform the consultant of any needed changes.

IV. INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM THE CONSULTANT

A. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

1. Business Organization
State the full name and address of your organization and, if applicable, the branch office or subordinate element that will perform or assist in performing the work.

2. Key Personnel Qualifications and Prior Experience
Include as a part of your proposal a brief statement concerning the persons from your firm who will be actively engaged in the proposed effort and their recent experience. Do not include corporate experience unless persons who will work on this project participated in that experience. Include references and URL's for websites of similar scope and budget to the website proposed in this RFP.

3. Project Plan
The consultant shall provide a brief project plan that describes the tasks necessary to complete the Scope of Work and optional items as deemed necessary by the consultant. Include a brief discussion of the techniques that will be used and an explanation of how the project will be completed in the given time frame.

4. Authorized Negotiators
Identify and include the names and telephone numbers of your organization's personnel authorized to negotiate the proposed contract with NWMCOG. In the event that this proposal, and the subsequent negotiations, leads to a contract you will be asked to provide a written verification that the person signing the contract is authorized to do so.

B. PRICE PROPOSAL

The price proposal must be submitted apart from the technical proposal in a sealed envelope clearly marked, "Price Proposal" and with the consultant identified on the front of the envelope. The price proposal will only be opened for the highest scoring technical proposal. The price proposal should indicate all services included and clearly any additional services which may be required to complete the project as additional services.

V. PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND AWARD CRITERIA

The consultant's technical proposal will be evaluated using the selection criteria below. All proposals received shall be subject to an evaluation by the Consultant Selection Committee, assisted by other technical personnel as deemed appropriate for the purpose of selecting the consultant with whom a contract will be executed. Representatives from the firm(s) achieving the highest scoring proposal(s) will be invited to meet in person with the Consultant Selection Committee before final selection is made. NWMCOG reserves the right to reject any and all proposals in whole or in part if in the judgment of the Consultant Selection Committee, the best interest of all parties will be served. The criteria and the percentage of their importance in making the selection are:

Method of approach: 20 Percent
This refers to the technical soundness of the consultant's stated approach to the project, the comprehensiveness of the proposed approach, and the techniques to be used.

Understanding the Purpose: 50 Percent
A determination will be made of the consultant's understanding of the project purpose and goals as presented in the RFP. Evaluation will be based on the data presented in the consultant's proposal. Consultants should feel free to suggest other requirements and problems that may have been overlooked.

Capability and qualifications: 10 Percent
The ability of a prospective consultant will be evaluated under the terms of the RFP, relative to having a staff with the qualifications needed to successfully complete the project. Qualifications of professional personnel assigned to the project will be measured by experience with particular reference to experience on projects similar to that described in the Scope of Work. The consultant's professional and project staff that work on the project must be the same staff that is identified in the proposal.

Schedule: 10 Percent
The prospective consultant will be evaluated on their ability to follow a schedule that will successfully complete the project within the required time frame.

Originality or innovativeness: 10 Percent
This RFP generally outlines the work activities and products expected by the contract administrator. A key factor in the selection of the firm, in addition to terms in 1 through 4 above, is any innovative approach to the website that goes beyond the suggested Scope of Work. It must be shown how this will be accomplished within the time limits.