Background
Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) is a national membership organization representing over 200 conservancies in Kenya. KWCA works with conservancy landowners and landscape conservancy associations to create an enabling environment to deliver environmental and livelihood benefits to communities. KWCA’s role is to help catalyse the conservancy movement by convening, connecting, informing and representing conservancies and other key stakeholders in a shared effort to make wildlife conservancies thrive in Kenya. KWCA recognizes conservancies as a strong mechanism to promote wildlife stewardship and custodianship by local communities and landowners sharing land with wildlife.
KWCA website is used to raise awareness and promote the work of KWCA in order to support its success and visibility in Kenya. It is also used as a tool for communication and collaboration between its members and landscape conservancy associations for the sharing of expertise, knowledge and resources on community led conservation.
The current website www.kwcakenya.com was designed five years ago and since then the organization’s mandate has grown with new programmes and the demand for information and data from conservancy members, partners and the general public has increased hence the need to consider a new website layout and structure to meet their needs.
Objective of the assignment
KWCA requires the services of a website developer firm or individual to redesign the current website to a robust user-centered design, optimized for desktop, mobile and tablet that will make it easier for users to navigate and find information they are looking for. The website will be redesigned to reflect an information hub and resource center for community led conservation in Kenya. It will include new content, photos, videos, publications, reports and multimedia content that will communicate our brand consistently.
Target Audiences/User Groups
The intended users of the website include, but are not limited to the following categories of audiences and content will be geared to meeting their information needs:
User groups/Primary Audiences:
- Conservancies, Communities in conservancies and landscape conservancy associations
- Current and potential donors/supporters
- Conservation NGOs interested in community led conservation
- National government especially line ministries of environment, forestry, tourism, wildlife and Lands
- County Governments
- Local, national and international media who report on wildlife conservation,
- Students and researchers of wildlife conservation
- Private sector partners
- KWCA staff
Scope of work
The consultant will perform the following tasks to support the process of redesigning the website. It is however expected that this will commence with an inception meeting with KWCA to further understand its requirements.
Broad tasks
- Identify the best possible architecture for KWCA’s website
- Liaise with KWCA communication team to identify key messages for the website and content placement
- Edit, proof read and update new content for the new site
- Design and integrate an intranet system for its membership
- Train designated staff on the Content Management System (CMS)
- Average site load time should be reasonable
- Ensure website layout is interactive, appealing, highly usable and responsive.
- Ensure HTML is W3C compatible
- Promotion of site at Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Ensure optimal integration with social media platforms i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Flicker, WhatsApp, and others
- Integrate new digital services such as online donations platform, campaigns, e-newsletters, blog, slide-shows, infographics, maps, story maps, videos, sound, digital library, chatbots and others.
- Offer technical support when required.
The consultant is expected to achieve the tasks as per the schedule below:
Step 1: Review, Consult and Recommend
- Analyse the existing website functionalities
- Make recommendations for re-design and provide at least 3 different layouts versions
- Make recommendations regarding web traffic software website and social media analytics for detailed reports of visitors to the website
- Make recommendations/proposal regarding additional plugins required for full functionality of the website
- Review, recommend key messages and its placement
- Recommend an intranet system
- Confirm the compatibility of the HTML pages with W3C standards
Step 2: Design
- Provide a wireframe of the website
- Refine the architecture and design following inputs from staff and identified users
- Liaise with KWCA communication team to identify sources of website information, edit, proofread and update in the relevant section
- Develop META tags on each web page and assist in registration with major search engines
- Develop, integrate and implement an intranet system to allow for registration and log in details for KWCA staff and conservancy members to get information and update profiles.
- Ensure design and sample content are “print-friendly”
- Search Engine Optimization
- Display a GIS map of conservancies
Step 3: Test and migration
- Transfer and integrate the data from the old website include archived content
- Check bugs and problems, diagnose and fix them
- Check W3C compatibility and scripts of the entire site
- Initiate user testing (create a Beta website) and incorporate feedback
Step 4: Finalisation
- Develop a user guide for the website and CMS
- Train KWCA communication team on how to manage the new website CMS and Intranet
- Provide maintenance support when needed.
Deliverables
Within the contractual obligation, the consultant shall deliver a website with the following features:
- Interactive, appealing, adaptable, highly usable and responsive web design
- Search Engine Optimization
- Compatible with a range of browsers
- Updated content
- Functional integrated Intranet System
- Social network platform integration
- Digital service integration
- Beta testing and incorporation of feedback
- Migration of data from current website to the new platform.
Expected duration of the assignment
This assignment should not exceed a period of 8 weeks.
Copyrights
KWCA will hold exclusive rights to all design and other work products contained on the website.
Proposal Structure
Interested consultants are invited to make submissions through a proposal detailing both technical and financial aspects to include the following aspects:
- Understanding and interpretation of the TORs and scope of work
- Proposed methodology/approach and detailed timeline with deliverables
- Company profile and samples of similar work done
- Details of SEO strategy and training of Project Personnel in how to go about creating and managing content, Analytics and website monitoring report capabilities;
- Curriculum vitae of key personnel
- A clear detailed cost breakdown