REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP): WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT FOR COOPERATION CANADA

Issue Date: July 9th
Proposal Due Date: August 17th
Contact for Inquiries and Submission: Gabriel Karasz-Perriau, Senior Communications Manager, Cooperation Canada, [email protected]  

 

About Cooperation Canada 

Cooperation Canada brings together Canada’s international development and humanitarian organizations and advocates for them by convening sector leaders, influencing policy and building capacity. Together, we work with partners both inside and outside Canada to build a world that’s fair, safe and sustainable
for all. 

Visit our current website: www.cooperation.ca 

 

About the Programs 

Cooperation Canada is hosting the ARC Hub and Digna programs, to help enable various capacity building initiatives on different topics to the various organizations in the sector, not limited to Cooperation Canada’s membership. The scope of work will include merging these two websites’ content within Cooperation Canada’s website. 

The Anti-Racist Cooperation (ARC) Hub: https://centre-arc-hub.ca/ 

Digna, the Canadian Centre of expertise on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEAH): https://digna.ca 

 

Project Overview

Cooperation Canada seeks a qualified web design and development firm to design, build and deploy a new, modern and accessible website that enhances user experience, reflects our values and is technically robust and future ready. The new website must feature high performance, improved accessibility and a flexible and secure hosting solution. Additionally, the content of the Cooperation Canada website and the websites of its two programs will need to be consolidated into a single website. 

 

Objectives 

The main goals of the website redesign include: 

• Modernizing the structure and interface 

• Ensuring WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards 

• Enabling bilingual functionality (English/French) 

• Improving usability, content discoverability and mobile responsiveness 

• Ensuring GDPR and Law 25 compliance, including a cookie consent pop-up 

• Incorporating AI-powered features (e.g., search, recommendations, social media connectivity, report rendering, etc.) – To be discussed 

• Providing a visual and searchable resource library with a tagging system 

• Data visualization tool 

• Enabling public engagement through appreciation buttons and interactive content 

• Including a photo gallery tool for storytelling and event documentation, including a photo optimization tool for website uploads 

• Include a dynamic event calendar, ideally synced with Glue Up (CRM system) 

• Feature a job board with the option for paid postings via PayPal or similar 

• Providing a custom analytics dashboard, including key engagement and traffic metrics, tag and resource performance, accessibility performance tracking, including errors and compliance status over time 

• Ensure basic SEO best practices are implemented, including metadata, alt tags, semantic markup, and friendly URLs 

• Implementing a sustainable content migration and archiving plan 

• Providing high-performance hosting to ensure fast loading times, uptime reliability and security 

• Providing training, documentation and continued support post-launch 

 

Scope of Work 

The selected firm will be responsible for the following components: 

Discovery & Planning 

• Content audit for migration, retirement and archiving 
• Recommend Information Architecture to guide sitemap and wireframe creation (Site pages will be provided in due time)

 

UI & UX Design

• Bilingual, accessible and responsive design 

• Stakeholder engagement and UX research 

• Clear information architecture 

• Implement foundational SEO best practices, including semantic HTML, heading structure, metadata, alt text, clean URLs, canonical tags, and integration with search engine tools (e.g., Google Search Console, XML sitemap generation) 

• Public-facing tools (photo gallery, resource library, job board, event calendar) 

 

Front-end & Back-end Development 

• Implementation using WordPress (or equivalent CMS) 

• GDPR/Law 25-compliant cookie consent pop-up 

• AI-powered features such as personalized content, improved search or social media connectivity 

• Internal analytics dashboard 

• Tagging system to improve navigation, search and filtering across site sections 

• Resource library with filters by theme, format, date and language 

• Integrate a bilingual data visualization tool, prioritizing user-friendliness, accessibility and ease of future updates (e.g., Power BI) 

• Photo gallery with categorization and accessibility features 

• Design system for the website—including menus, buttons, CTAs, headers, and more—that aligns with CC brand guidelines (typography, colors, imagery) 

• Appreciation tool system 

• Event calendar with Sync with Glue Up (CRM) and allow for other members’ event submissions

• Job board with post management interface for admins, including paid postings via PayPal integration or similar 

• Integration with Glue Up (CRM) 

 

Content Migration & Archiving 

• Migration of content from various websites (e.g., roster of experts, resource library, publications) and media with metadata 

• URL redirects and SEO strategy 

• Archiving system with search/filter capabilities for legacy documents 

• Easy sustainability mechanism(s) to avoid link rot, especially for the resource libraries, that point to several external links 

 

Hosting & Performance 

• Implement a secure and reliable hosting solution with existing provider (Supra) 

• Ensure high site performance including: 

• Fast page loading times 

• Scalability to handle traffic spikes 

• High uptime guarantee 

• Robust security protocols (SSL, firewall, monitoring) 

• CDN integration, if applicable 

• Performance optimization including caching, compression and media handling 

 

Testing & QA 

• Cross-browser and cross-device testing 

• Accessibility testing (WCAG 2.1 AA) 

• Load/performance and security testing 

• Conduct on-page SEO audits and verify structured data is correctly implemented 

• User testing and final refinements 

 

Training & Documentation 

• Administrator training on CMS, analytics and tools 

• Technical and user documentation (e.g., users’ guide) 

 

Post-Launch Support 

• Optional ongoing support and maintenance (monthly or annual) 

• CMS/plugin updates, security patches, performance monitoring 

 

Budget 

Total budget: $45,000 to $55,000 CAD, inclusive of taxes, hosting setup and licensing. A detailed breakdown of all costs, including optional or recurring services, is required. 

 

Timeline 

Milestone	Target Date
RFP Issued	July 9th
Proposal Submission	August 17th
Finalist Interviews	Week of August 25th
Vendor Selected	August 29th
Project Kickoff	September 1st
Website Launch	TBD

 

Proposal Submission Requirements 

Proposals (5 to 10 pages) should include: 

• Company overview and relevant experience 

• Project understanding and technical approach 

• Description of the information architecture, including proposed page types, hierarchy and templates (e.g., homepage, resource page, job post, event listing, blog, landing page, etc.) 

• Detailed strategy for resource library, event calendar, visualization tool and job board (including integrations) 

• Work plan with deliverables and timeline 

• Hosting and performance strategy, including with proposed provider (Supra) or configuration 

• Details on AI tools, analytics, accessibility tracking, consent pop-up, tagging system and content management 

• Outline your approach to SEO, including on-page optimization, metadata handling, URL structure and performance-related SEO strategies 

• Full compliance with Canadian and Quebec privacy laws (GDPR, Law 25) is mandatory 

• Budget breakdown 

• Portfolio samples (nonprofit sector preferred) 

• Team bios and references 

• Procurement and equity considerations (see below) 

• Post-launch support options 

• The selected firm is expected to be a collaborative partner—proactive and solutions-oriented— bringing forward recommendations and best practices throughout the project lifecycle, rather than only executing to-spec 

 

Procurement and Equity Considerations 

Cooperation Canada is committed to transparent, fair and values-based procurement processes. All proposals will be assessed on merit by a committee of Cooperation Canada team members, with attention to: 

1.  Relevance, feasibility and quality of the proposed approach, methodology and workplan (35%) 

• • • Understanding of project goals and nonprofit digital needs 

• • • Strength of proposed hosting and performance solution (speed, uptime, scalability, security) 

• • • Integration of analytics, tagging, AI features, visualization tool and a resource library 

• • • Content migration and archiving plan 

• • • Compliance with GDPR and Law 25 

• • • Post-launch support structure 

• • • Cost-effectiveness and timeline feasibility 

2. Experience and qualifications of the applicant(s) (30%) 

• • • Experience with accessible, bilingual websites for charities 

• • • Team qualifications and references 

3. Cost-effectiveness of the budget (25%) 

• • • Cost-effectiveness and timeline feasibility 

4. Equity considerations (10%) 

• • • Commitment to AEDIJ and Indigenous reconciliation 

 

We strongly encourage applications from individuals and organizations that reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. This includes consultants from equity-deserving groups, such as Indigenous Peoples, racialized people, women, people with disabilities, members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and others who face structural barriers to access equity considerations will form part of the proposal assessment. 

This means we will consider: 

• How the applicant integrates equity principles in their approach and process 

• Whether the applicant identifies as or includes members from equity-deserving groups 

• The degree to which the proposal reflects inclusive, participatory and culturally responsive methods 

 

Please submit in PDF format by August 17th to [email protected].