Request for Proposals: IPU.

org Redesign

The IPU
Established in 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the world organization of
parliaments a global forum for parliamentary dialogue, cooperation and action.
The IPU advances democracy and assists parliaments and parliamentarians
throughout the world to fulfill their mandates.
The IPU promotes and defends democracy and the rule of law. It develops
parliamentary standards, disseminates information on good practices and helps make
parliaments and MPs more effective. It defends the human rights of members of
parliament and promotes respect for universal values, norms and principles.
IPU works in support of gender equality and the participation of women, minorities and
indigenous peoples in political and public life. It assists parliaments in coping with a
growing international agenda and in contributing a parliamentary dimension to the work
of the United Nations and similar multilateral institutions.
The Organization is financed primarily by its Members out of public funds and is
headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Members
There are currently 166 Members and 10 Associate Members of the InterParliamentary Union. Consult the PARLINE database for more information about these
parliaments.

Purpose of the Project

Throughout 2015, the project involves the following products, in order of launch
priority:
1. Site:
a. CMS: Building a Content Management system
b. IPU.org: The complete overhaul of www.ipu.org in English and French,
which will include the new front-facing interfaces of the Services
elaborated below.

c.

Caucus: Visual integration / re-theming, of the Womens Caucuses

website in English and French, or if cost neutral, its migration into the
DMS:

2. Services:
a. DMS: Developing a Data Management System (DMS) to house data for
the PARLINE database and an API, or using an out-of-the-box solution
such as DKAN if appropriate.
b. Online registration system: Developing an online registration system
for IPU Assemblies and other events that pulls key data from the DMS
and relays contact details to our mailing program (MailChimp)

Longer term
Although not within scope of this project, we will be looking at: Developing an
Arabic version of the Site and Services, extending the DMS to house other IPU data,
building an online digital asset library, a CRM solution for contacts, and an extranet for
our Members.

Website Objectives
IPU.org directly connects the organization with its Members and other audiences on a
daily basis by providing practical and timely information on inter-action, tools on
strengthening parliaments and democracy, as well as sharing knowledge on
parliamentary developments around the world.
The website is an often used resource to educate civil society on parliaments role in a
democratic society and hosts unique and valuable data on the institution in countries
everywhere.

Target Audience
Our target audience include: Members of Parliaments, civil society organizations, the
media, other international organizations, diplomatic corps, and academia.

IPU.org should:

Inform on what IPU is, does, and what difference it makes;

Ensure IPU is the source and reference point for anyone wanting to know about
parliaments and democracy;
Enhance relationships with Members;
Facilitate access for IPU Members and broader public to IPU documentation
resources and publications;
Centralize and streamline management of online data and statistics about IPU
activities and membership;
Streamline online event registration, newsletter subscription and contacts
management;
Enshrine the principle of access for all by complying with W3C standards of
Accessibility for People with Disabilities, and people with limited connection
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speeds, and by making publications available offline upon request.

Look & Feel

The chosen vendor will be asked to develop a comprehensive responsive design,
while adhering to IPUs visual identity guidelines (see Annex). The emphasis should be
on usability, findability, accessibility, and strong visuals, particularly for interactive
elements.

At minimum, key screens are to include designs for the home page, news
landing page, a news story page, a static page, a publications page, the
publications archive, a country overview page, the advanced search page,
search results page, interactive map page, human rights cases pages,
microsite, photo gallery, video page, event page, entry page for PARLINE,
PARLINE comparative page, PARLINE country/chamber page, PARLINE
election results page, PARLINE advanced search page, and PARLINE
search results page.
Interactive visuals will include: Comparative tools, country maps, dynamically
generated infographics, and charts.

Information Architecture
The information architect is expected to audit a proposed Site structure and
information architecture, currently hosted on a temporary Drupal site (see Annex), and
propose creative solutions that champion user needs and showcase the breadth of our
content. Ultimately, the information architect is expected to conceptualize an intuitive,
concise, responsive interface that creates a positive and efficient visitor experience.

Functional Requirements
Although further functional analysis needs to be carried out by the selected vendor, our
current understanding of requirements is as follows:

Overall Requirements:

Languages
The Site and Services should support multilingual content in English, French, and
Spanish as well as special and non-Latin characters, including support for Arabic rightto left.

Usability
Ease of use
It must be emphasized that usability of the new Site and Services user and admin
interface(s) is an important vector when measuring the successful outcome of this
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project.
Given limited human resources, the solution proposed should be easy to manage,
requiring minimal training and staff hours for upkeep.

Scalability
To meet our Members evolving needs, the solution proposed needs to be flexible and
scalable to permit fine-tuning and adjusting of features, both in-house or by the chosen
vendor with a modest future investment.

Content Management system (CMS)

We would like the Site to be built on Drupal CMS, with minimal customizations to
modules. However, vendors may propose another open-source CMS, indicating why it
would be a better fit for our requirements.

Accessibility
The Site should conform to all applicable W3C standards including Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines and any other relevant Technical Specifications for mark-up.
The Site should load within a reasonable timeframe for people with limited connection
speeds.

Compatibility
The Site need to be fully responsive, and touch-device friendly. Please design for
future unknown devices, not current known devices.
The range of browsers and operating systems to be supported for testing purposes is
TBD.

Tracking
At a minimum, we need to track: Monthly visits, unique visitors, geographic locations,
documents downloaded (PDFs and others), data exports, social media shares,
referrals, keywords used to find the Site, keywords used within the Sites search
engine. As for the DMS, tracking of API served data and all content being pulled is
essential.

Search Engine Optimization

Preference will be given to vendors with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social
media marketing expertise, as an integral aspect of the information architecture phase.
Other than redirects for search engines, we will need canonical links, page redirects,
and the ability to automatically and manually enter the values of every pages meta
tags, including for dynamic pages generated through the DMS.

Arabic Support
Although creating an Arabic version of the Site and Services is not within scope at this
time, the chosen solution must be capable of supporting Arabic R-T-L for future
deployment.

Specific Requirements:
1. Site
Current Situation
Presently, IPU.org is a sprawling, multi-themed website containing 80K pages, 8K
PDFs, and 6K image files. With the exception of the dynamic PARLINE pages built in
ASP/SQL, most pages are static, built in HTML and CSS code.

Over the years the site has evolved into a document repository and a historical
archive.
Future Vision
The future IPU.org should be concise and focused on delivering the best possible user
experience. The Site should focus on its primary objectives as a communications tool.
Namely, the Site should allow visitors to easily achieve any of the following actions:

Learn in detail about Parliaments, their mandates, and composition;

Learn about IPUs structure, mandate and history;
Quickly consult the latest news, upcoming events and publications;
Find information by country , or theme (7 thematic pages);
Access data on parliaments from PARLINE through a visual interface by
country / chamber or by comparative view, and allow visitors to generate,
visualize, export and share the combinations of data most relevant to
them;

Easily find and filter through publications, IPU resolutions, Statistics on

women in parliaments and all IPU resolutions, declarations and other
outcome documents by entering a keyword, year, and a selection of
taxonomy terms;

Easily find the right contacts at IPU for any area of work or department
(Human Rights team, Human Resources, Press contact, etc.);
Easily subscribe or unsubscribe from the e-bulletin / press releases and
other updates;
Register for events and access related information;
View and engage with IPUs social media streams;
Request publications for off-line delivery.

New Site Structure

IPU has identified key material that needs to be migrated (refer to Migration section)
along with new content currently being drafted.
The new content and a proposed site tree are being housed in a temporary, restricted
Drupal site. Access will be provided to bidders upon request, and is strongly
recommended to better understand the envisaged Site.
For reference, following is the temporary Drupal sites top- level content outline. It
should not be construed as a comprehensive content list.
-

Home

About us (with 8 sub-sections)

Our work (with 8 sub-sections)

News (with 5 sub-sections)

Events (five sub-sections including a micro-site)

Resources (including PARLINE, womens caucuses database and publications)

Contact

PARLINE
The Site will pull data for the PARLINE section from the DMS. The front-end PARLINE
interface is briefly described below.
Overview
http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/parlinesearch.asp
PARLINE is a database about national parliaments that has been part of the IPU web
site since 1996. The name "PARLINE" is derived from PARliaments onLINE.
PARLINE is a unique, authoritative source of information on the structure and working
methods of 266 parliamentary chambers in all of the 190 countries where a national
legislature exists.
PARLINE can help answer a wide range of questions, such as:
o
o
o
o
o
o

Which parliaments have a bicameral structure?

How many parliaments have legislative terms of more than four years?
How is the Speaker of parliament elected in Latin American countries?
Which parliaments have special human rights committees?
Which African countries have held parliamentary elections this year?
Under what conditions can parliamentarians in Canada lose their
parliamentary mandate?

Current situation of PARLINE:

Visitors can:

Access election results for parliamentary elections worldwide through the

Recent elections page.
Compare data from selected fields for selected chambers in the Modules
section.
Generate graphs and view detailed statistics in the At a glance section.
Export datasets and parliamentary mailing lists using the Toolbox.
Track changes to key features of parliaments with the RSS News feeds.

Vision within the new Site

The scope and content of PARLINE are being extensively revised.
The interface, residing at www.ipu.org/parline, will evolve to become more intuitive,
visual, and interactive.
The new Site will better harness the information within PARLINE by pulling relevant
data into different sections.
Preconfigured data sets, such as Women in National Parliaments
(http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm) or Women in regional parliamentary
assemblies (http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/regions.htm) will become auto-generated by
the DMS.
In addition to exporting content, visitors will be able to generate visuals and share them
on social media with a link-back to the Site.
The new PARLINE interface, to include 8-12 key screens, will be an evolution of the
current one. Some of the evolutions are incremental; others will be larger, moving
towards a more visual approach as proposed in the examples below:

Home page
Should at a minimum contain the following ways to access the data:

Country-chamber (select from a drop down list). Provides direct access to

country/chamber page. Similar to current PARLINE

Comparative views of selected data points by subject

Free text. Provides a predictive search assistant that makes proposals for
countries and data points as the user types. See
http://www.devinfo.org/libraries/aspx/Home.aspx

Comparative Data Pages

This should build on, but significantly extend, the At a Glance pages in the current
PARLINE. Comparative data will be available for around 100 data points.
Displays comparative data in different ways:

Visual: Provides a world map and a chart/times series/other graphic as

appropriate. See:
IPUs Global Parliamentary Report microsite:
http://www.ipu.org/gpr-e/data/index.htm
And:
http://gamapserver.who.int/gho/interactive_charts/hiv/women/atlas.html

Tabular: Provides a table containing data for the data point.

Provides an aggregate summary of the data, building on the current At a Glance

page.
Provides filters for each data point:

Structure of parliament

Political system

Region

Size of country/chamber (a slider to limit the data to parliaments of certain

size).

Year (when time series data is available)

Country/Chamber Data Pages

This should build on, but significantly improve, the Country/Chamber pages in the
current PARLINE. Around 500 data points will be available for each Country/Chamber.

Displays data for a specific country / chamber in a visual way, and provides
easy navigation between the different groups of data points for each
country/chamber

Provides access to time-series data for a specific country / chamber

Provides links to move easily from viewing a data point for a specific country /
chamber to viewing the same data point across a range of countries on
Comparative pages

Customized Search Page

Provides ways for visitors to create their own customized search. This should build on
the Modules pages in the current PARLINE.

Visitors can create their own personal selection of countries and data points.
See
http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=136
&IF_Language=eng&BR_Topic=0

Also provides quick access to frequent customized searches, for example for
parliamentary staff who want to download addresses/contact details of
parliaments.

All the features available on the comparative data pages are also available
here, such as export

Photo Gallery
Provides access to photos of parliaments. This should build on the Photo gallery page
in the current PARLINE.
Details are to be elaborated in collaboration with the information architects as
part of the overarching site architecture.

Women Caucuses website

Overview
The Womens Caucuses website is a comprehensive resource offering data on more
than 80 caucuses for women parliamentarians. Visitor can search, filter and export
data. To find out more, visit: http://w3.ipu.org/
Requirements
This site currently runs on an Expression Engine instance and is hosted on an IPU
server. It needs to be re-themed according to the new look & feel. No migration or
development is needed.
However, please indicate whether migrating this website to the DMS is cost-neutral.

2. Data Management System:

Within the scope of this project, the DMS will include only data for the PARLINE
database. However, the DMS needs to house and serve various datasets in the future,
such as historical data on women in parliament. The DMS should be built accordingly.

IPU expects the selected vendor to analyse and identify full features and requirements;
create the new DMS to house the PARLINE database; design and deploy the new
admin interface; migrate the data from various sources; and, integrate the database
into the Site possibly through an API.

PARLINE Database

Current Situation

Technology
PARLINE is built on proprietary software, based on ASP and an SQL database that is
126 MBs in size. There is a separate image folder consisting of 1200 files totalling 28
MBs in size. It is housed on an internal Windows server.

Structure
Currently, PARLINE includes around 250 data points for 266 chambers.

Admin interface
A bilingual web-based admin interface is used by the admin to update the database on
a daily basis.

Temporary Data store

PARLINE is necessarily undergoing a restructuring as new data being gathered from
Parliaments can no longer be housed in the existing fields. Weve developed a
temporary data store (MySQL database) to house incoming user-submitted survey
responses.
This conceptual restructuring was carried out in-house.
The IPU can provide access to the existing database, and a proposed schema for
PARLINE v2.

Future Outlook
The new version of PARLINE will contain around 500 data points for 266 chambers.

Key Features:

Usability
The admin interface should be highly usable, offering an intuitive interface which
requires minimal training.

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Scalability
The system should be scalable and modular allowing for additional features to be
added easily and cost effectively.

Calculated datasets - Women in Parliaments

The system should calculate Women in Parliaments data on a monthly basis and serve
it to IPU.org

Time series
We aim to keep a record of the changes made to around 120 of the data points so that
time series data can be made available to end-users.
Comparative data exports

An admin should be able to generate pre-calculated or grouped data for comparative

pages on IPU.org.

Historical country names

An admin should be able to manage country name changes over specific time periods,
possibly by creating a link between the country names for that set period.

Application Programming Interface (API)

As part of the Open Data initiative, IPU is looking at building an API that can serve
DMS data not only to IPU.org, but other interested sites and applications.

Further requirements are provided in the Annex.

3. Online Registration System

In early 2014, IPU developed a prototype online registration system for its bi-annual
Assemblies.
The prototype was built in PHP/MySQL. It is not open-source based.
IPU would like to build an open-source online registration system for all its events,
based on this system.
Refer to the Annex for the current prototypes specifications.
At a top-level, in order to accommodate events other than Assemblies, the new system
should be:

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Modular: So that admins can activate/deactivate features on an as needs basis for

each event

Customizable:
a. Admins need to create interactive registration screens with logic (if user answer
X, then show screen/form Y);
b. Admins should be able to add new fields and dropdowns as needed;
c. Admins should be able to change the values of fields and dropdowns.

Migrations
1. CMS
-

The following content needs to be migrated

o

Around 600 records housed in a temporary Drupal site, containing

pages, files, embedded videos, images and taxonomies. This site
currently exists in English only.

The content (around 7000 pages/files) elaborated in the migration

sheets in the Annex.

Link redirects:
A list of links needs to be redirected to the new URL via scripts. The list can be
provided by IPU.

Embedded links:
Embedded links need to be remapped to their new corresponding page via
scripts.

2. DMS
PARLINE:
There are 3 main automated migration sources for PARLINE, as indicated in the sheet
entitled, DRAFT_Parline-key-data-indicators in the Annex:
1. Temporary data store: A MySQL database whose schema is provided
2. Three Excel files
3. Current PARLINE database: An SQL database but the required data can be
exported to an Excel file.
Manual migrations: IPU will handle manual migrations, which will include photos of
parliaments.

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Other datasets:
The DMS would include various other data sets in the future and should be built
accordingly, but migrating additional data is not within scope of this project.

Optional: Caucus site:

Only if migrating the Womens Caucus website into the DMS is cost neutral to
re-theming it.

3. Online registration system:

The current Assembly registration system data needs to be migrated. A

database schema is provided in the Annex.

Expected Deliverables
For the purposes of this RFP, overall tangible project deliverables are listed below. A
final list of deliverables is to be negotiated with the selected agency.
Please note that IPU may choose to build the three products (Site and two Services)
concurrently or in a series of phases. IPU may elect to select one agency to build all
three products or to award products to separate agencies, which would then be
expected to collaborate as needed to produce the requested deliverables:

Project management: Provide dedicated Project Manager to help lead

requirements gathering activities, document key decisions and track project
milestones and deliverables. Provide robust Q/A protocols that will assure quality
control over all deliverables. Files: Archival project management space (e.g.
Basecamp or similar).

Project analysis: Analyse documents provided by IPU, consult with IPU staff to
detail requirements and propose appropriate solutions. Files: Top-level feature
grids (x3) and detailed description of proposed solution to each feature or other
agreed format.

Project plan: Detail a project plan for each of the stated requirements following
the project analysis Deliverables: Word document, ideally with wireframes/visuals
detailing the proposed solution to each feature.

Information architecture / Wireframes: Audit a proposed Site structure to

maximize the user experience and elaborate proposals to achieve desired results
in consultation with IPU. Wireframes should detail all elements to be included on
key Site and Services screens, for all devices.
Files: Document(s) detailing new sitemap, wireframes, interaction designs,
architecture, and navigation for Site and Services,

Technical architecture: Detail full technical requirements including technology

standards and practices to be used, integrations, migration plans, dependencies,

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digital security and code documentation practices for each of the products. Files:
Word documents.

Schedule (release plan): Detailed a production schedule using a phased

approach with listed milestones. File: Gantt chart(s).

Visual design & theming: Design and code a:

o
o
o
o
o

Comprehensive;
Intuitive / usable;
Responsive;
Reversible (left-to-right / right-to-left); and,
Future-forward design that conforms to existing visual guidelines.

Files: Final, layered design files in PSD or EPS format, and CSS code

Migration: Migration of data, images, files, web content, and link redirects. Code
clean-up via scripts whenever possible. Files: Detailed migration logic, migration
plans and link redirection mapping document in Word.

Development: Build intuitive, highly usable:

a) Site along with its associated features and CMS administration interface
b) DMS along with its associated features and administration interface
c) Online registration system along with its associated features and
administration interface

Documentation: Technical documentation for admin interface(s), and developer

documentation, outlining modules used, code customizations and any other
relevant information that may be needed by future developer. Files: Microsoft Word
files.

Testing: Complete QA, bug, compatibility and usability testing of Site and Services
as per agreed bowsers/OS, with warranty.

Training: Provide on-site end-user contributor training and administrator training to

staff for each of the administration interfaces.

Maintenance: Provide recommendations for on-going maintenance, backups and

operation of the Site and Services.

Project Timeline

Proposals must be submitted no later than: 6 pm CET 24 March 2015

Proposals will be evaluated immediately thereafter.
Interviews will be held at IPU headquarters in Geneva in April.
The project should commence in early May

The Site is expected to go live November 2015.

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Selection Criteria
Preliminary Examination of Proposals
IPU will examine proposals to determine whether they are complete with respect to
minimum requirements as outlined in the Format for Proposal section IPU may reject
any proposal at this stage.

Selection Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Quality of responses to stated requirements;

Qualifications of the design/development team;
Past experience on similar projects, specifically:
Designing information architecture for large-scale sites, with a SEO / social
media perspective;
Developing relational databases;
Developing multilingual sites.
Demonstrated ability to adequately resource the project to meet stated deadline;
Quality of design portfolio including such elements as interactive maps;
Sustainability of both product and company;
Overall cost and cost-effectiveness.

Format for Proposals

1. Project Summary:
o

Use the provided matrix to detail how your solution addresses the current
known requirements for the CMS and the DMS. Use format:
Stated requirement

o
o
o
o

Proposed solution
that meets
requirement

Note(s)

Address usability standards and testing.

Address any important technology information and specifications used in
your solution.
Describe your project management/communication process.
Provide a timeline with major milestones.

2. Budget:
o
o

o
o

Describe the fee structure/breakdown and payment schedule

Include an itemized breakdown for each of the relevant deliverables and
items in the matrix, for:
1. The Site
2. The DMS
3. The online registration system
The quoted price should be inclusive. If the price excludes certain fees or
charges, provide a detailed list and explanation of excluded elements.
Include your daily rate for Webmaster services.

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Include estimates for post-deployment maintenance, support and

upgrades including hourly rates for services.
o Note: IPU is an international organization not subject to Value Added Tax
(VAT).
3. Qualifications and Experience:
o

o
o

o
o

Provide a brief profile of your agency, including how many full-time staff
your agency employs.
Provide relevant case studies, including project description, timeline, and
reference contact at organization. Please be sure to document expertise
in:

Working on similar projects with international organizations

Database design and development

Designing information architecture for content-heavy sites

Developing multilingual websites using non-Latin characters,
ideally in Arabic

Responsive design
List the project team and provide short biographies.
Describe any subcontractors/outside resources necessary to complete the
project.

4. Questions:
o

Please direct questions to Ed Cooper, Officer-in-Charge, Division of

Support Services, at rfp@ipu.org.

5. Please send proposals to Ed Cooper, Officer-in-Charge, Division of Support

Services at: rfp@ipu.org no later than 6 pm CET on 24 March 2015. No late or
incomplete proposals will be accepted.
6. Miscellaneous:
o
o
o
o

Proposals must contain the signature of a duly authorized officer or agent

of the company submitting the proposal.
IPU must own, have full access to and have the right to customize code
and designs.
Bidder must disclose any relevant conflicts of interest and/or pending
lawsuits.
IPU will negotiate contract terms upon selection. All contracts are subject
to review by IPU legal counsel, and a project will be awarded upon signing
of an agreement or contract, which outlines terms, scope, budget, timeline,
and other necessary items.
IPU will not cover costs related to preparing or issuing proposals. Shortlisted candidates invited to interviews are expected to cover their own
travel costs.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Annexe:
Attached:
A. Visual Identity guidelines
B. Feature Grid (Site-CMS, DMS)

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Please contact IPU at: rfp@ipu.org to receive Annexes C to F below:

C.
D.
E.
F.

Temporary Drupal site

Migration sheets
DMS-PARLINE package
Online registration system: Preliminary analysis

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