Call for Proposals | Design and Platform Development - LADE

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Design and Platform Development

Project Title: Enhancing Knowledge Pertaining Election- Pushing the Reform Agenda towards the 2022 Elections

Main Task

The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) is seeking the services of an individual or a firm experienced in web development and design to create a digital and interactive platform for sharing knowledge on democracy and electoral reforms. The selected individual/firm will be required to create (design, develop, test and implement) a web platform within the designated timeline that meets the following criteria:

• Interactive, appealing, highly usable and responsive web design
• Average site load-time should be reasonable
• Search engine friendly
• Able to render appropriately on a wide variety of different browsers
• Be Secure

Scope of work

Amid the emerging global health crisis, LADE aims through this project to share electoral knowledge and pave the road towards building a supportive public opinion among citizens, syndicates, political groups and other stakeholders on electoral reforms in an interactive online platform. This project is part of LADE’s broader electoral strategy, which works towards greater participation of citizens in decision-making and political life in Lebanon.

Through this project, LADE wants to develop an interactive online platform, which allows the general public to acquire electoral knowledge and share feedback on the matter. LADE aims to expand outreach and broaden engagement around elections and political rights.

Under the supervision of LADE’s Senior Projects Coordinator the selected applicant will be expected to undertake the following tasks:  

• Develop an open-source and user-friendly (both on the front and back end) design, layout, structure, all including strong visual language and responsive design for the website by following an interactive development process and end result
• Investigate and propose options to set-up or link to a virtual e-learning system for LADE’s electoral material
• Create wireframes, storyboards and prototypes to propose options for implementation.
• Develop corresponding user interface components (web templates, style sheets, scripts, images, etc,) as needed.
• Integrate and embed the content within the platform
• Integrate effective search and aggregate functions that interact with social media platforms of LADE, a public discussion board, and linkages to an easily managed e-mail newsletter as well as a way to manage visitors and those interested in receiving updates about LADE’s work
• Develop a clear and accessible user guide and troubleshooting manual for the website and the CMS
• Provide regular maintenance and updates of the website for 12 months
• Provide LADE team access to the dashboard, reports and statistics  
• Train designated LADE staff on how to manage the new website and CMS and easy to read user guide/training guide
•  

Specifications

• User Registration and Administration: The solution should allow users to complete an appropriate user registration process. User registration data and credentials are to be persisted by the solution in an appropriate form. The user registration process should adhere to best practices including the use of CAPTCHA and email verification and should be able to scale as needed i.e. No limit on the number of users that can register.
• Administrators should be able to review user registration/profile details, change user roles/access rights, terminate / close user accounts.
• User Profile and Account Administration: Users should be able to view and update user-generated information on self, for example, personal details, password and account details, posts, preferences and interests.
• Privacy Settings Administration: Members should be able to configure how much of their profile information is shared with different users/user groups.
• Content Management: The solution should allow authorised project staff (or appointed personnel) to edit and update the website including the ability to create, remove, edit and publish content.
• Site Statistics/Management Reports: The solution should provide authorised users with a number of relevant reports, for example, user registration, site usage, key interests/topics being discussed within the collaborative spaces and other relevant statistical data.
• Tagging/folksonomy: Users should be able to provide user-generated tags and descriptions of content being added.

Required Qualifications

The applicant is required to meet the following qualifications:

• Proven experience of web design and support in the local and/or international development sector.
• Strong experience in developing in well-known and widely used open-source platforms, such as Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, etc.
• Understanding of End Users needs to match with adequate technical solutions.
• Strong track record in web site design; security and administration; Google Analytics; Search Engine Optimization.
• Proactive verification by the contractor as a client is satisfied with the service provided.
• Experience in working with NGOs and knowledge of the political situation is a plus. 

About LADE    

LADE is a Lebanese non-profit and non-partisan organization advocating for election integrity and fair representation as two vital pillars for a functional democracy. Since its establishment in 1996, the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) has been heavily involved in instigating electoral reform on a national level through a set of well-designed interventions amongst which election monitoring constitutes a corner-stone for a viable parliament, where it features as a necessary tool to assess the electoral framework and propose amendments when needed. The association's early efforts reached paramount in 1998 with the implementation and management of a full-fledged campaign aiming at restoring local elections across Lebanon for the first time since the breakout of the Lebanese Civil War. Consequently, LADE’s role grew further and as a leading reformist organization. LADE’s awareness extended throughout the years to cover pre-elections, e-day and post-election activities.