Call for proposal – Website development vendor 

For developing and maintaining four GFCE websites  

1. Background

Established in 2015, the GFCE is a multi-stakeholder community of more than 200 members and partners of governments, IGOs, companies, academia and project implementers from all world regions. Its mission is to strengthen cyber capacity and expertise globally by being a pragmatic, action-orientated, and flexible platform for international collaboration. The GFCE delivers its mission through coordination to avoid duplication of efforts and blind spots, knowledge sharing to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of projects, being a Clearing House to connect requests for assistance with offers of support and identifying and filling knowledge gaps with the development of a global CCB Research Agenda.  

In this context, we are seeking proposals from experienced website development vendors to manage and enhance our websites. The selected vendor will liaise with the Secretariat regularly and be responsible for ongoing website maintenance, content management, technical support, and development activities to ensure the website remains a reliable and effective platform for communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing within the global cyber security community. 

Overview of GFCE websites: 

• www.thegfce.org is the main communication channel that provides the latest activities, showcases organization achievements, and provides new information about the GFCE community. 
• https://gc3b.org/ The inaugural Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B) was organized to raise awareness of the importance that every nation has the expertise to invest in their digital future, and to encourage countries to work together to ensure a free, open, and secure digital world. The first iteration took place on the 29-30 November 2023 in Accra, Ghana. The next conference will be held in Geneva in May 2025.  
• https://cybilportal.org/ is a knowledge portal for the international cyber capacity-building community, facilitated by the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), which has hundreds of new cyber capacity projects added annually. It is where governments, funders, and implementing agencies can find and share best practices and practical information to support the design and delivery of capacity building projects and activities. Cybil also acts as a source of information on cyber security and cybercrime capacity building for civil society, academia, and the technical community, which aligns with the GFCE’s commitment to transparency and inclusion. 
• https://cyberstrategyactivities.org/ is the GFCE initiative to support stakeholders in cybersecurity strategy design.  

2. Objectives

This call aims to solicit proposals from qualified website development vendors to manage and further develop the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) websites. The selected vendor will maintain the website, implement updates, enhance user functionality, and ensure optimal performance to support GFCE’s mission and objectives. 

The vendor will: 

• Meet regularly with the GFCE Secretariat to review functional requirements and to determine new ways forward for the websites. 

• Provide efficient and swift backup support. 
• Develop and maintain operational systems, tools, design, and processes. 
• Ensure website stability via regression, support quality assurance, and perform unit and user-acceptance testing to identify bugs.  
• Implement updates to the content management system (CMS), plugins, and themes to ensure security and compatibility. 
• Conduct file backups regularly to local directories. 

3. Scope of work

3.1. Website development plan 

Conduct a comprehensive assessment to thoroughly understand the specific needs and requirements of each of the websites. This involves analyzing the advantages and challenges of current websites, identifying pain points, and determining areas for improvement.  

3.2. Website maintenance: 

• Regularly monitor the websites for issues, bugs, and security vulnerabilities. 
• Implement updates to the content management system (CMS), plugins, and themes to ensure security and compatibility. 
• Perform routine backups and security scans to safeguard against data loss and cyber threats. 

3.3. Technical support: 

• Provide technical support and troubleshooting assistance to website users and administrators. 
• Address user inquiries, feedback, and requests in a timely and professional manner. 

3.4. Website development: 

• Collaborate with GFCE stakeholders to identify and implement new features, functionalities, and enhancements. 
• Develop custom solutions to meet specific requirements and improve user experience. 
• Conduct usability testing and gather feedback to inform iterative improvements. 
• Implement a robust monitoring system to track the website’s performance and provide reports and/or key learning points per quarter.  
   

4. Eligibility and process 

The vendor must demonstrate prior experience in website development and the capacity and long-term planning to develop the GFCE websites.  

Interested partners are requested to submit the following:  

a. A technical proposal outlining competence and relevant website development experience and approach to working on websites, as mentioned in part 1.

b. A brief financial proposal outlining the costs and/or estimated budget to cover tasks mentioned in part 3. 

5. Evaluation of the proposals 

All proposals will be evaluated equally following the criteria below:  

• Vendor profile and relevant experience  
• Technical proposal quality  
• Creative proposal quality 
• Financial proposal  

6. Contact and proposal submission 

All proposals and supporting documents shall be submitted to contact@thegfce.org – first round of applications will be reviewed by 10th of May 2024.

The GFCE will accept questions for clarification regarding the call for proposals, which should be sent to contact@thegfce.org no later than 3 working days before the deadline.