AREUO Website Redesign

About AREUO

The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Organization (AREUO) is an Afghanistan-based nonprofit research organization established in 2002 with the assistance of international community. AREUO’s mission is to inform policy and practice by conducting high quality, evidence-based research and actively disseminating the results, and to promote a culture of research and learning in Afghanistan. More information about AREUO’s works and activities can be found on its website www.areu.org.af

Purpose

AREUO is seeking to hire a web designing company or independent website designer to offer a robust redesign of the organization’s website, encompassing its contents, aesthetics, and linked databases. As AREUO reinvigorates its operations and aims to bolster its local, regional, and international communications and advocacy, it is intending to have a user-friendly modern style website to serve as AREUO’s first point of contact with the world. The website shall further serve to promote AREUO’s publications and act as a hub for all publicly available information about AREUO and its 22-year history. AREUO is inviting proposals from reputable and qualified companies/individual with a record of accomplishment in designing and developing interactive websites, preferably for independent nonprofit research and educational organizations.

Objectives

The primary objective of this website redesign are:

1. Enhance User Experience: Create a user-friendly and intuitive website that is easy to navigate and provides a seamless experience for users, ensuring optimal accessibility and usability.
2. Improve Visual Appeal: Develop a modern and visually appealing website design that aligns with our organization’s branding guidelines, incorporating appropriate imagery, colors, fonts, and layouts.
3. Responsive Design: Ensure the website is fully responsive across various devices (desktops, tablets, and mobile phones) to provide an optimal viewing experience for all users.
4. Content Management System (CMS): Implement a robust CMS that enables non-technical staff to easily update and manage website content, including text, images, videos, and documents.

Scope of Work

Specific duties will include, but not be restricted to, the following:

• Website content optimization to improve the website speed and performance.
• Special attention to optimizing and integrating media content, such as videos and images.
• Implementation of functional elements like a comments facility, web forms, and forum discussion boards.
• Solutions for separate language versions (Dari, Pashto, and English) to maintain content integrity and ensure a seamless user experience across all 3 versions of the website.
• Creating a simple, focused design with clear site mapping for intuitive navigation on all devices.
• Integrating YouTube videos for enhanced compatibility and reduced website data load.
• Designing creative prototypes.
• Performing tests before launch.
• Troubleshooting and debugging.
• ICT staff training.

Timeline

The project timeline is as follow:

• Website Design: 1 March - 30 March 2024
• Front-End Development: 31 March – 14 April 2024
• Content Integration: 15 April – 25 April 2024
• Content Testing: 26 April – 30 April 2024
• Final review and launch: 1 May – 5 May 2024

AREUO would welcome specialist ideas on shortening the above-given timeline to complete accordingly the expected scope of work.

Proposal Submission

Interested parties are invited to submit their proposal no later than 22 February 2024. The proposal should include:

1. Company profile and relevant experience.
2. Design portfolio highlighting similar previous projects.
3. Detailed approach, methodology, and timeline for the project.
4. Cost breakdown and payment terms. (Proposal should outline a breakdown of costs for each phase and deliverable, including any ongoing maintenance or additional support charges).
5. At least 3 references from previous clients.

Evaluation Criteria

Criteria for evaluating proposals may include, but are not limited to:

1. Demonstrated experience and expertise in website design and development.
2. Quality and creativity of previous design projects.
3. Proposed approach, methodology, and timeline.
4. Cost-effectiveness.
5. Ability to meet the specified objectives and requirements.

Rights and Ownership

Upon successful completion of the project, AREUO will retain full ownership and rights to all design assets, source code, and content developed as part of the project.

Confidentiality

All proposals and associated documents should be treated as confidential and used solely for the purpose of this project evaluation.

How to apply

Please submit your proposals to [email protected] no later than 22 February 2024. Please write “AREUO Website Redesign” in the subject line of the email. Only short-listed applicants will receive a response.