Consultancy Service for Development of Website and Smartphone Apps

Terms of Reference development of website and smartphone apps

VECO Vietnam is seeking to engage a consultant to develop a website and a smartphone application for the Android and iOS operating systems. These tools will inform consumers on issues of vegetable safety and on the locations of stores selling safe and organic vegetables across six inner-city districts of Hanoi.

1. Background

VECO Vietnam is the Vietnamese country office of the Belgian INGO Vredeseilanden. VECO Vietnam’s main focus lies in sustainable agriculture and food safety. VECO Vietnam’s current program aims to, among other things, raise consumer awareness on these issues to better inform consumers on food safety and sustainability.

Food safety is a pressing issue in the mind of the consumers in Vietnam. Despite this, sales of S/OV are still relatively low. Research shows that a major reason many consumers are not yet buying S/OV is a lack of information on supply: consumers are unsure of where they can purchase S/OV. VECO Vietnam aims to improve the ability of consumers to find reliable shops that sell S/OV in Hanoi. This should result in an increase of S/OV sales in these shops.

2. Objective

To make S/OV stores in Hanoi easier to locate, VECO Vietnam will contract a consultant to build a website and smartphone application that feature, among other parts, information and a video on vegetable safety and a regularly updated, interactive map displaying the locations of all S/OV stores in Hanoi. In the future, the goal is for this platform to evolve into a platform that would allow consumers and store owners to interact with one another, evaluate and review stores, arrange for deliveries and participate in awareness-raising activities and events. The aforementioned interactive map will be informed by a database populated through an extensive survey of S/OV stores in Hanoi.

3. Requirements

• Main website and app elements: a new website will be created for this project, separate from VECO Vietnam’s existing website. Both the website and apps will consist of four main sections:
  
  • Informative section: this will use text, graphics and audiovisual materials to educate consumers on vegetable safety issues and why S/OV are a better choice.
  • News section: this section will display regular news and events. This will also include the option to send out a newsletter.
  • Map section: this section will feature a map that displays the locations of S/OV store in Hanoi and a search bar that allows users to enter an address and select some search criteria, such as opening hours, type of store, type of vegetable on sale, etc. The page will then return the stores closest to the entered address and that match the selected criteria.
  • Profile section: an individual profile will be created for each store that is listed on the website. This profile will display information about the store, including pictures of the storefront, GPS coordinates, address, contact information, product availability, etc.

• Design: both the website and smartphone apps will be designed in a visually attractive manner and in-line with current trends in website and smartphone app design. The website will be ‘responsive’, by which is meant that the website scales to fit the dimensions of the screen that it is being viewed in. The website version of the information section will feature a Parallax Scrolling effect. Details of the design will be decided in coordination with VECO Vietnam.

• Language versions: the website will be available in both Vietnamese and English.

• Smartphone app platforms: the smartphone apps will be developed only for recent and current versions of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS mobile operating systems. Both apps will be available in the respective platforms’ app stores.

• Easy to expand: the website and apps will be designed to allow for easy expansion of functionality in the future. These expansions may include an online payment platform to arrange for deliveries or a platform that allows consumers and shop owners to create a profile and interact and review each other.

• Easy to add content: the website and apps will be developed in such a way that it will be relatively easy for VECO Vietnam staff to add and change texts and to add (rich) content without the consultant’s intervention.

• Integration with S/OV store database: the interactive map will be informed by a database that includes a list of all S/OV stores in Hanoi. The website and app consultant will communicate to VECO Vietnam as soon as possible the technical requirements for such a database. VECO Vietnam will then pass this information on to the survey consultant. If necessary, the two consultants will coordinate with each other on the database’s technical requirements.

• Technical support: The consultant will provide technical support for the website and apps for an initial period of one year after delivering the website and smartphone apps. Bugs and minor feature requests will be resolved within a short timeframe.

• Intellectual property ownership: the website and smartphone app’s code, the domain name and other intellectual property will be owned solely by VECO Vietnam.

4. Period of consultancy engagement

The deadline for submission of the proposal is September 11 2015 and the planned starting date of the engagement is the signing date of the contract, around September 15.

Subject to satisfaction of VECO Vietnam, the deadline for the deliverables will be close of business, Monday October 22 2015 (deadline for the website & Android app) & Nov 05 2015 (deadline for iOS app).

5. Deliverables

The consultant will provide VECO Vietnam with the following deliverables, in both English and Vietnamese:

a. A website incorporating the elements set out in section 2 of this Terms of Reference,
b. One Android and one iOS app incorporating the elements set out in section 2 of this Terms of Reference,
c. Presentation of a demo-version of the website and apps to VECO Vietnam for consideration prior to the delivery of the final website and smartphone apps.

VECO Vietnam will be the sole owner of all deliverables and data generated through this consultancy.

6. Selection criteria

• Relevant qualifications pertaining to consultancy requirements,
• Extensive experience in website and mobile application development,
• Excellent written and spoken Vietnamese and English,
• Ability to communicate well with a variety of audiences,
• Experience in project management,
• Excellent time management skills,
• Flexibility and adaptability

7. Fees and payment

Payment for this consultancy will be issued as follows:

a. 50% at the signing of the contract,
b. 50% following submission and approval of the final website and apps to VECO Vietnam

8. Guidelines of proposal

Candidates shall submit the following documents in English:

• A proposal that sets out the work plan containing the detailed and complete technical and financial components of the project,
• Up-to-date CVs of the consultant. In case the applicant is an organization, include an up-to-date portfolio of the organization,
• Examples of previous work

Deadline for submission of applications: close of business, September 11 2015. VECO Vietnam will contact shortlisted candidates for personal interviews. Proposals must be addressed to VegMap Project Coordinator, Mr. Leandro Rossi, [email protected].