Request for Proposal

Request for Proposal

2008/09 SECTOR-SPECIFIC IT TRAINING PROGRAMME

FOR SMEs IN TRAVEL INDUSTRY

SOLUTION WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

May 4, 2009

INDEX

1 BACKGROUND............................................................................................................................1

2 OBJECTIVES................................................................................................................................2

3 TARGET USERS...........................................................................................................................2

4 SOLUTION WEBSITE DESIGN.................................................................................................2

5 PRELIMINARY SOLUTION WEBSITE FEATURES.............................................................3

6 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT..................................................................................................3

7 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SERVICE PROVIDER............................................................5

8 TERMS OF PAYMENT.................................................................................................................6

9 TERMINATION OF CONTRACT..............................................................................................7

10 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION..........................................................................................................8

11 PROPOSAL EVALUATION.........................................................................................................9

12 ASSIGNMENT AND SUB-LETTING.......................................................................................10

13 COPYRIGHT...............................................................................................................................10

14 DISCLOSURE OF CONTENT...................................................................................................10

15 CONSENT TO DISCLOSURE...................................................................................................11

16 LIABILITY OF DAMAGES AND COMPENSATION............................................................11

17 ILLEGAL WORKERS................................................................................................................12

18 PUBLICITY..................................................................................................................................12

ANNEX 1................................................................................................................................................13

ANNEX 2................................................................................................................................................15

Annex 3....................................................................................................................................................16

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR SERVICE PROVIDER FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF

SOLUTION WEBSITE UNDER 2008/09 S ECTOR-SPECIFIC IT TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR

SME S IN TRAVEL INDUSTRY

1 Background

1.1 Sector-specific IT Training Programme (SSP)

The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TICHK) has successfully

obtained the support from the Office of the Government Chief Information

Officer (OGCIO) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special

Administrative Region under 2008-09 SSP to upgrade the IT utilization in

the industry. A few seminars, solution fairs and trainings will be delivered,

while the solution website serves in delivering promotions, hosting seminar

and training information, providing a self-learning platform and

maintaining continuous support for the industry. This project is hosted by

TICHK with the support from Hong Kong Information Technology

Federation (HKITF) as the implementer.

1.2 The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong

The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TICHK) was established in

1978 to protect the interests of travel agents. Under the Travel Agents

(Amendment) Ordinance 1988, TICHK membership became a statutory

requirement for obtaining the Travel Agent's Licence which was legally

required of a company intending to carry on travel business.

1.3 Hong Kong Information Technology Federation

Hong Kong Information Technology Federation (HKITF) was founded in

1980 as a non-profit, non-political trade association to provide a forum in

which the IT-related business in Hong Kong can work together for the

benefit of the industry and to maintain a high level of business practice

amongst the members. Over the years, HKITF has developed into a

dynamic and highly respected organization with over 300 members.

HKITF works closely with the government to promote the development of

the local IT industry.

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2 Objectives

3 The objectives of the SSP are:

3.1.1 to increase the operation efficiency of the SMEs;

3.1.2 to explore the use of IT in value-added services.

3.1.3 The objectives of developing the solution website are:

3.1.4 to promote the project and arouse interest in the industry;

3.1.5 to host the seminar and training videos, handouts and related

material;

3.1.6 to establish a self-learning platform for the industrial members on

the trainings;

3.1.7 to provide continuous support for the industry in long run.

4 Target Users

5 The beneficiary group includes all the SMEs in the Travel Industry in

Hong Kong, the number of which is estimated to be about 1,500 in number.

6 The website will be used by top management as well as operation staff.

English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese should be supported in both

design and content.

7 The HKITF / TICHK operation colleagues are responsible for updating

the content and for quick changes. Other contents are maintained by the

Service Provider.

8 Solution Website Design

9 The solution website should be designed in an easy-to-learn and user

friendly manner. Look and feel must be attractive but not overloaded by

graphics elements. The pages must be optimized for modern web browsers -

Internet Explorer 4 or above, Fire Fox, Safari, Opera and Chrome.

10 The website will be presented in three character sets, namely, English,

Traditional and Simplified Chinese.

11 Animated elements should be employed wherever appropriate,

especially in the training areas mentioned below.

12 Banners of different sizes should be incorporated.

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13 Preliminary Solution Website Features

14 Introduction, Background and Objective of Project.

15 Latest news.

16 Seminars (video, handouts, solution fair catalogs).

17 Trainings (video, training material, operation manuals).

18 Self-learning material for the trainings mentioned in, but not restricted

to, section 17.

19 Collection of useful tools and solutions, with forum for users to

exchange ideas.

20 Banners may appear in all pages for various purposes.

21 Technical Requirement

22 The Content Management System

22.1.1 Website should have a Content Management System (CMS) which

will allow administrators to control updating of the content.

22.1.2 The CMS should be developed with J2EE or other industry

standards, and can support different group of users for updating

different type of contents.

22.1.3 The majority of CMS functions should be performed with a standard

browser.

22.1.4 The website should be able to upload and display content in

Unicode independent of the character setting.

22.1.5 Membership Module

22.1.6 Website must have a user registration and management system to

create new user accounts, edit existing user information, remove

accounts, track activities and perform other relevant operations.

22.1.7 Website should have the ability to generate email notifications to

subscribers when there is updated content.

22.1.8 This membership module should integrate with the forum functions

mentioned below for proper control.

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22.1.9 Banner Management

22.1.10 Website should support posting, editing, deleting, tracking or

other relevant operations on the banners throughout the website.

22.1.11 The website should support normal banner types including but not

limited to gif, jpeg, flash and bmp banners. Moreover, both static

and rotating banner are expected to be supported.

22.1.12 Knowledge Sharing and Forum Module

22.1.13 This module will serve as the information repository for all users.

Current technical information will be updated regularly by TICHK /

HKITF colleagues whenever appropriate.

22.1.14 The discussion forums for registered members serve as other

means for information sharing among members with moderate

function. These features are designated to assist, in particular, the

SMEs who are seeking opinions and information, such as success

experience sharing, value-added possibilities and mutual support by

industrial partners.

22.1.15 The Service Provider is welcomed to suggest other community

functions which may facilitate the knowledge sharing.

22.1.16 Self-paced Trainings

22.1.17 The 4 trainings will be converted to self-paced courses and

uploaded to the website. The final format is to be confirmed later.

22.1.18 The website should provide functions on tracking the learning

progress of the members and easy-to-use self-assessment

mechanism editable by the system administrator.

22.1.19 Reporting

22.1.20 The website is expected to provide the standard hit rate reports

such as access rate by day, by week, by month, number of hits and

most frequently accessed pages etc.

22.1.21 Functional specific reports related to the major modules such as

Forums usage, Training courses taking, Video watching etc. are also

required.

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22.1.22 Hosting

22.1.23 The Service Provider is expected to host the website and any

related program for 18 months.

22.1.24 Two seminars and four training courses will be delivered during

the project span. These programs will be video-taped and converted

to streaming files for online watching. The Service Provider is

invited to provide the optional video-taping, editing and conversion

services. And the Service Provider is required to upload and

provide streaming services for all said video files.

22.1.25 At the end of the hosting period, the Service Provider must

provide all the technical details on installing the system in a

dedicated server to be provided by HKITF or TICHK.

22.1.26 Documentation

22.1.27 The Service Provider must provide documentation and manuals

for website users and website administrator.

22.1.28 The Service Provider must also provide manual for website core

API and database structure description.

22.1.29 The Service Provider must also provide manual for installing the

website in a clean server.

22.1.30 A tentative schedule is available in Annex 3.

23 Responsibilities of the Service Provider

24 Work with TICHK and HKITF in the design, development, testing,

launching and support of the website according to the specific requirements

depicted in Sections 8-21.

25 Provide free maintenance on any problem found in the website.

26 Participate in the seminar to announce the launching of the website,

briefing on the use of the tools in the website, collecting feedback from

TICHK, HKITF and users to improve the design and functions.

27 Provide relevant content to be incorporated into promotional material.

28 (Optional) Provide video-taping and editing for 2 seminars and 4

training sessions.

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29 (Optional) Convert videos from all seminars and trainings to

appropriate file formats.

30 Upload and provide streaming services for on-line viewing of the said

video files.

31 (Optional) Create self-paced training courses ready to be delivered on

the web, from the material in the 4 training sessions. These courses are

aimed to allow users to acquire the skill sets demonstrated in the trainings.

The Service Provider may advice on the design and implementation of

these courses.

32 Conduct trainings to TICHK and HKITF in constructing and managing

of the website.

33 Responsible for web hosting since the launching of website and

transfer the responsibility to TICHK, HKITF or other designated party at

the end of project.

34 Provide the source code and technical support to TICHK, HKITF or

other designated party so that the related party can continue the

development when required.

35 Provide unlimited telephone and email support for TICHK and HKITF

staff during the project period.

36 The Service Provider is also welcomed to suggest additional

functionalities that would contribute to the success of the whole project.

37 Terms of Payment

38 The Contract fee will be paid in three installments. The down payment

which is 20% of total Contract fee will be billed upon sign-off of the

Contract. The second installment of 40% will be billed after the launch of

the website. The remaining 40% Contract fee will be billed upon the

completion of the project. The successful Service Provider shall submit an

invoice to HKITF for each of the three payments accordingly.

39 HKITF and TICHK reserves the right to claim damages from the

successful Service Provider should they fail to complete the project within

the agreed time schedule and to the technical specification specified in this

document.

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40 Termination of Contract

41 TICHK and HKITF may without prejudice to the provisions contained

in this Condition and without prejudice to its rights against the Service

Provider in respect of any delay or otherwise, or to any claims for damage

in respect of any breaches of the Contract and whether the date for

completion has or has not elapsed, by notice in writing absolutely terminate

the Contract in any of the following cases:

41.1.1 TICHK and HKITF shall have the right to terminate the Contract in

whole or in part with a 14-day written notice to do so should the

successful Service Provider failed to meet the required professional

standard or the requirements defined in this RFP.

41.1.2 If the Service Provider, being an individual, or where the Service

Provider is a firm, any partner in that firm, shall at any time become

bankrupt, or shall have a receiving order or administration order

made against him or shall make any composition or arrangement

with or for the benefit of his creditors, or shall make any

conveyance or assignment for the benefit of his creditors or shall

purport to do so, or any application shall be made under any

bankruptcy legislation for the time being in force for sequestration

of his estate, or a trust deed shall be granted by him on behalf or his

creditors; or

41.1.3 If the Service Provider, being a company, shall pass a resolution, or

the Court shall make an order that the company shall be wound up,

or if a receiver or manager on behalf of a creditor shall be

appointed, or if circumstances shall arise which entitle the Court or

a creditor to appoint a receiver or manager or which entitle the

Court to make a winding-up order.

41.1.4 If there shall be any breaches of the Contract.

41.1.5 If the date of completion shall be elapsed and there shall be

insufficient or no justifiable causes of delay.

41.1.6 If for any other reasons TICHK and HKITF considers the

termination of the Contract is necessary.

41.1.7 If the Contract shall be determined under this Condition, all sums

of money that may then be due or accruing due from HKITF to the

Contractor shall cease to be due or accrue due.

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42 Proposal Submission

43 For the Service Providers who wish to be included in the selection, she

has to provide the following in the proposal:

43.1.1 The completed Proposal Submission Form (Annex 1).

43.1.2 “Technical Proposal” in which the Service Provider should

demonstrate how to fulfill the requirement mentioned in this

document.

43.1.3 “Fee Proposal” as attached in Annex 2, in which the Service

Provider should suggest the charge in HK Dollars. No adjustment is

accepted after the submission. The sum of the item breakdown

should be equivalent to the quoted lump sum net amount. The

proposal shall remain valid for not less than ninety (90) days after

the closing date.

43.1.3.1 Charges for Optional items should be listed in a

separate page, identical to the format of the "Fee

Proposal" as attached in Annex 2, with the title "Fee

Proposal - Optional Items".

43.1.3.2 Participation in the Optional items is not mandatory, but

will add advantage to the Service Provider.

43.1.4 “Service Provider’s Profile” which should include the following

information:

43.1.4.1 Related experience of the Service Provider

43.1.4.2 Specialized areas of experience

43.1.4.3 Reference website / web address

43.1.4.4 Job/client reference

43.1.4.5 Biographies of key project staff members

43.1.4.6 Description of facilities available in-house

43.1.4.7 Financial report of the company (Optional)

43.1.4.8 The completed proposals should arrive at HKITF on or before

noon of May 22, 2009 at :

2505-6, 25/F, Stelux House,

698 Prince Edward Road East, San Po Kong,

Kowloon, Hong Kong.

No late or incomplete submission will be accepted. Proposals (in 2

duplicates) can only be submitted by hand or by post. In case the proposal

is submitted by post, it has to be reached on or before the above said

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deadline. TICHK and HKITF will not be held responsible for loss/delay of

proposals sent in by post.

43.1.4.9 Enquiries for further information can be submitted on :

http://www.hkitf.org.hk/ssp

Official replies will be posted at the same, open for review to all Service

Providers.

43.1.4.10Selected Service Providers will be invited to a presentation

session within two weeks after the said deadline. Service Providers who fail

to attend the presentation session will render their quotations invalid. The

aim of the presentation is to assess the competence of the Service Providers.

Topics to be covered in the presentation include but not limit to:

43.1.5 Understanding of the Project;

43.1.6 Relevant experience of the Service Provider;

43.1.7 Proposal on the general layout, structure and features of the website

with prototype, if any; and

43.1.8 Competitive strengths of the proposal submitted.

44 Proposal Evaluation

45 TICHK and HKITF are not bound to accept the lowest quotation. The

Service Providers will be evaluated based on their documentary

submissions and performance during the interviews. The relative weighting

of the Service Provider’s Profile, Technical Proposal, Degree of meeting

requirement and Fee Proposal will be 25%, 30%, 20% and 25%

respectively.

46 The Score for Price will be calculated with the following formula:

46.1.1 A score of 25 will be allocated to the lowest valid bid.

46.1.2 Score for other offers will be calculated based on the formula:

25 * lowest price / price of other offer

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47 Assignment and Sub-letting

48 The Service Provider shall not without the consent in writing by

HKITF, assign or transfer the Contract or any part, share or interest therein.

No installment or other sum of money due payable under the Contract shall

be payable to any other person than the Service Provider, excepting the

Service Provider’s bankers (which term shall include financial house or

financier).

49 The Service Provider shall not sub-let the whole or any portion of the

Project without a written consent of HKITF.

50 Copyright

51 The copyright of all the materials shall be the property of TICHK. The

successful Service Provider shall pay royalty on third party materials and

software if so required in the website development process. The royalty so

paid should cover TICHK’s launching of the website, its operation and

maintenance until the end of the project.

52 The product supplied should not infringe upon the patent or copyright

of any third party. In the case of any claim or action brought against

TICHK’s and HKITF’s Representatives, Servants, or Agents alleging

infringement of any patent or copyright in respect of the products supplied,

the Service Provider shall undertake to defend or settle such claim or action

at its own expense.

53 Disclosure of Content

The successful Service Provider and their staff should strictly keep confidential of

all the materials provided by TICHK and HKITF. They should not disclose any

part or whole of the content/material to anybody without the consent of TICHK

and HKITF representative. The materials provided by TICHK and HKITF should

be returned to their representatives after the completion of the website.

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54 Consent to Disclosure

HKITF and TICHK shall have the right to disclose whenever it considers

appropriate or upon request by any third party (written or otherwise) information

on the awarded Contract, without any further reference to the successful Service

Provider, the name and the address of the successful Service Provider, service

description and the Contract amount.

55 Liability of Damages and Compensation

56 HKITF, TICHK and their employees or agents shall not be under any

liability whatsoever for or in respect of:

56.1.1 any loss or damage to any of the successful Service Provider's

property or that of its employees or agents or persons who are self-

employed persons or sole proprietors hired by the successful Service

Provider however caused (whether by any negligence of HKITF or

TICHK or any of its employees or agents or otherwise).

56.1.2 any injury to or death of any of the successful Service Provider's

employees or agents or persons who are self-employed persons or

sole proprietors hired by the successful Service Provider save and

except any such injury or death caused by the negligence of HKITF

or TICHK or any of its employees or agents.

56.1.3 The successful Service Provider shall indemnify HKITF, TICHK

and their employees or agents against any claim or demand made against or

liability incurred (including all costs, charges or expenses whatsoever) by

HKITF or TICHK or any of its employees or agents in respect of :

56.1.4 any loss, damage, injury or death referred to in sub-clause 56 of this

clause (save and except injury or death caused by the negligence of

HKITF or TICHK or any of its employees or agents).

56.1.5 any loss or damage sustained by or any injury to or death of any

third party in consequence of any negligence of the successful

Service Provider or any of its employees or agents or person who

are self-employed person or sole proprietors hired by the successful

Service Provider.

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56.1.6 The successful Service Provider shall indemnify HKITF and

TICHK against any loss of or damage to any property of HKITF, TICHK or

of any of their employees or agents or any injury to any employee or agent

of HKITF and TICHK arising out of the negligence of the successful

Service Provider or any of its employees, sub-contractors or agents or

person who are self-employed person or sole proprietors hired by the

successful Service Provider.

56.1.7 In the event of any of the successful Service Provider's

employees, sub-contractors or agents or person who are self-employed

person or sole proprietors hired by the successful Service Provider suffering

any injury or death in the course of or arising out of the Contract and

whether there be a claim for compensation or not, the successful Service

Provider shall within 7 clear working days give notice in writing of such

injury or death to HKITF’s representative.

57 Illegal Workers

58 The successful Service Provider undertakes not to employ illegal

workers in the execution of this Contract. Should the successful Service

Provider be found to have employed illegal workers in breach of this

undertaking, HKITF’s representative may, on behalf of HKITF and TICHK,

by notice in writing, terminate the Contract and the successful Service

Provider is not entitled to claim any compensation.

59 The successful Service Provider shall be liable for all expenses

necessarily incurred by HKITF and TICHK as a result of the termination of

the Contract.

60 Publicity

The successful Service Provider shall submit to HKITF for approval all

advertising or other publicity material relating to this Contract wherein HKITF’s

or TICHK’s name is mentioned or language used from which a connection with

HKITF can reasonably be inferred or implied. The successful Service Provider

shall not publish or use any such advertising or other publicity material without

the prior written consent of HKITF’s or TICHK’s representative.

---End---

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Annex 1

(Page 1 of 2)

SOLUTION WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT UNDER 2008/09 SECTOR-SPECIFIC IT

TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR SMEs IN TRAVEL INDUSTRY

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FORM

NOTES:

1. If this proposal is being made by a partnership or an unincorporated body, the name(s) and

residential address(es) of all partners should be given in the spaces hereinafter provided.

2. In all cases, the Service Provider must insert below the number and date of the business

registration certificate:

Number _______________________________ Date_________________________

Having read the “Request for Proposal” on the Solution Website Development under

2008/09 Sector-Specific IT Training Programme for SME’s in Travel Industry

(hereinafter referred to as “the RFP”), I/we offer to deliver and complete the

assignment required under the RFP commencing from a date to be notified by HKITF,

in conformity with the RFP and for such sums that I/we have quoted in this proposal.

I/We agree to abide by this proposal for a period of not less than ninety (90) days from

the date fixed for receiving the same and it shall remain binding upon me/us and may

be accepted at any time before the expiry of that period.

I/We understand that the acceptance of this proposal by HKITF in the form of a letter

shall constitute a binding Contract between us. The proposal attached to the RFP shall

be used for the purpose of assessing the Service Provider’s competence in completing

the assignment only and shall not form part of the Contract if the quotation is

accepted.

I/We understand that you are not bound to accept the lowest or any quotation it may

receive.

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Annex 1 (Page 2 of 2)

I/We will provide _____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

(full names) from our Company as the coordinator of the project.

Name of Service Provider

__________________________________________________________________

Signed by the Officer Authorized to Sign Quotation (with Company Chop)

__________________________________________________________________

Date ______________________________________________________________

Registered Address of Service Provider

__________________________________________________________________

Place of Business Registration _________________________________________

Business Registration Number _________________________________________

(Please attach a copy of the latest business registration certificate)

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Annex 2

SOLUTION WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT UNDER 2008/09 SECTOR-SPECIFIC IT

TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR SMEs IN TRAVEL INDUSTRY

FEE PROPOSAL

Cost Breakdown

(e.g. Artwork)

Unit cost (e.g.

charge/man-day)

Number of units

(e.g. man-days)

Item Total(HK$)

Total:

Note :

Please complete the above table according to the breakdown of service fee required.

The total price quoted in this Fee Proposal should not be adjusted after submission.

Name of Service Provider :

Signature of Officer Authorized to

Sign Quotation : (with Company Chop):

Name of Person Signing : (in Block Letters)

Telephone No.: ______________ Fax No.: ________________ Date : ____________

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Annex 3

SOLUTION WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT UNDER 2008/09 SECTOR-SPECIFIC IT

TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR SMEs IN TRAVEL INDUSTRY

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Wk Task

1 RFP Deadline

3 Presentation and offer contract

4 Prepare content using CMS

5 Video-taping of 1st Seminar

6CMS Design review

Complete editing of video for 1st Seminar

7Complete conversion of video for 1st Seminar

Ready to upload 1st Seminar video to a website

8 CMS Design confirmation

9 Prepare self-learning platform

10 CMS content upload

12 UAT for CMS

14 Training for CMS

15 UAT for self-learning platform

17 Video-taping of 1st Training

18Launch self-learning platform

Video-taping of 2nd Training

21 Complete editing of video for 1st and 2nd Training

22Complete conversion of video for 1st and 2nd Training

Upload first 2 Trainings' videos and Self-Learning Material

25 Revision after collecting feedback

42 Video-taping of 3rd Training

43 Video-taping of 4th Training

45Video-taping of 2nd Seminar

Complete editing of video for 3rd and 4th Training

46

Complete conversion of video for 3rd and 4th Training

Upload last 2 Trainings' videos and Self-Learning Material

Complete editing of video for 2nd Seminar

47 Complete conversion of video for 2nd Seminar

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Upload 2nd Seminar video

51Revision after collecting feedback

54 Final version

55 onward Hosting and maintenance

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