· Web viewThe Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) is a non-political not for profit organisation of the …

Background

The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) is

a non-political not for profit organisation of the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) of

eleven countries: Burundi, D.R Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, South Sudan,

Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Over the years, ASARECA has invested considerably in stimulating the

transformation of the Agricultural sector to improve livelihoods of communities, farmers,

pastoralists and fisher folks among others in Eastern and Central Africa (ECA) Sub – region.

By pursuance of its mission, of enhancing regional collective action in agricultural research for

development, extension, training, and education so as to promote economic growth, poverty reduction,

hunger eradication , and sustainable use of resources in Eastern and Central Africa , ASARECA aims to

promote the generation and utilization of technologies and innovations in the sub-region. This is

intended at increasing the efficiency of agricultural research in the sub-region to facilitate economic

growth, food security and competitiveness through productive and sustainable agriculture.

To drive the achievement of this purpose, ASARECA identified the following as strategic

interventions:

Strengthening of gender- responsive governance and management systems,

Enhancement of the generation of demand driven agricultural technologies and innovations,

Enhancement of the adoption of policy options by decision makers to improve performance of the agricultural sector,

Strengthening the capacity for implementing agricultural research for development, and

Enhancement of availability of information and knowledge on agricultural technologies and innovations

The ASARECA Website

The ASARECA website, www.asareca.org was setup in 2001, re-designed in 2004. It was further

redesigned in 2008 and 2011 to reflect changes that had taken place at ASARECA.

ASARECA has just completed OP1 from 2008 to 2013 and has begun OP2 (2014 to 2018) and as

such the need to re-design the website to respond to OP2.

Under OP1, ASARECA implemented several projects and a lot of knowledge and information has

been generated in the context of these projects. The data, information and knowledge generated by

http://www.asareca.org/

ASARECAREDESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ASARECA WEBSITE - IFB NUMBER: ASARECA / NCB/SERVICES/14/1/02 July 2014

ASARECA projects and activities during the OP1 period were captured, organized and packaged into

targeted communication products. These communication products were designed to be responsive

to the needs of specific stakeholders and include training resources, reports, technical and training

manuals, research data, research papers, journal articles, policy briefs, books, pamphlets,

brochures, position papers, newsletters and video documentaries. An inventory of technologies,

innovations, and management practices (TIMPs), which are available for dissemination to and

uptake by farmers, has also been developed. The TIMPs include technologies and innovations

generated through ASARECA research programmes, as well as those generated by partners in the

ECA, especially NARI and universities.

The ASARECA website is the most important route used for disseminating information to many

stakeholders. It is the go to place for information for ECA.

New tools, approaches, techniques have come up since the last re-design effort and as such there is

need to develop a new website to accommodate them. There has also been growth in the use of

mobile computing band other newer technologies such as Web 2.0/3.0.

In order for ASARECA to reap from the benefits of a highly integrated website while catering for all

its audiences, there is urgent need for the website to be redesigned.

The target audience for the ASARECA website includes policy makers, famers, national, regional and

international organizations working in agricultural research, extension, training and education;

universities and advanced research institutes, private sector, agricultural service providers; NGOs;

development partners and the media and the media amongst others.

Overall objective of the assignment

The overall objective is to redesign, develop and implement and interactive website for ASARECA

Scope of work

The ASARECA website and its sub-sites will be designed within the following scope

Summary of key tasksNew Wave Technologies will undertake the following tasks:

Review the needs assessment report from ASARECA and identify key elements to include in the redesign effort

New Wave Technologies| Unique Technology Solutions 2


Review existing websites of similar organizations and pick out key features that could enrich the redesign effort

Develop a new design and layout for the new ASARECA website and sub sites

Develop a Content Management System (CMS)

Develop a new website on the test environment

Deploy the new Website on the ASARECA hosting servers

Train ASARECA ICT Unit and CPR Unit staff

Prepare detailed documentation to cover all technical aspects of the Website

Provide user and administrators’ manuals.

Our proposed methodology

Prior to the development

Evaluate the requirements

We shall carry out analysis of the project requirements and produce an inception report. This will

form the development strategy. At this stage we shall make an assessment of information

requirements of the different categories of users and functions. We shall take note of the manner in

which information from within and outside the site flows and the nature of information and reports

that need to be stored, managed and produced at all levels.

Document the features and lay ground for the development of the CMS

After approving the development strategy, we shall design website templates, features lists, use

cases, information flow diagrams, wire frames and test plans based on the statement of

requirements, inception report, guidelines and other documents made available by the client.

Development

Our offer is to rebuild www.asareca.org into an interactive User-Generated-Content driven multi-

site web portal that permits easy content management. We are offering a solution with multiple

user types and access levels. We offer to provide a website template for the mentioned sub-sites

each accessible via a unique sub-domain and an independent content management system.



Our proposed homepage

Key design considerationsThe new website will be a multisite that will allow for inter-operability, aggregate content from the

sub-websites to the main website, allow integration with Web 2.0/3.0 tools.

Site superstructureNew Wave Technologies will redesign the ASARECA website (as in the sample pages in the previous

sections and) to accommodate the following:

The ASARECA brand will have its own unique ‘look’. This should enable the user to recognize it as belonging to the ASARECA brand. In order to achieve brand consistency, everything will be interlinked and link back to the core brand look. The ASARECA logo will be used in a consistent way across the web pages (even programmes). The application of logos, typography, colour ranges and design styles should be consistent with the organization’s brand proposition/ brand application and publications guidelines. Consistent colour ranges and design styles will be applied.

The new site will be less visually crowded and more cleanly organized.

The design will anticipate and provide for the different types of content. It is necessary to organize the site content into taxonomies and hierarchies of information and to ensure the underlying structure of the site and its content is well constructed.

The website will integrate more varied forms of content including photos, videos, slideshows and audio files as well as more user support tools such as training guides/packs, toolkits, manuals, booklets, handbooks, reports and papers produced by projects

Capability to enable feedback with other users through the site.

Functionality to link or feature external content of interest. These include links to the relevant sites, which provide interactive features such as discussion forums, user feedback. ASARECA will consider the use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flicker amongst others

A sitemap that shows a clear navigational path structure

A total of 12 sub-websites will be integrated into the newly redesigned ASARECA website These are:



High Value Non Staple Crops,

Livestock & Fisheries,

Natural Resource Management & Biodiversity,

Knowledge Management & Up Scaling

Staple crops,

Agro-biodiversity and Technology, and PAAP Programmes

Partnerships and Capacity Development

M&E

Gender Mainstreaming

EAAPP

ESS

EAPGREN Unit

Each of these sub-websites will bear all the sections available on the main ASARECA website. The

ASARECA main website will be able to pool content from related sections of the programmes’ sub-

websites. These 12 sub-websites will be accessible through sub-domains created of the ASARECA

website.

Layout The ASARECA Website is to be structured with a modern layout that gives a user access to all

the desired information at a glance.

The main website will have the initial sections as given in the table below. However, the modular CMS shall enable the secretariat to add other sections and content pages on the fly

# Section Description

1.0 Home Page Welcome page for ASARECA. It will contain links to the various sections and will also have a dynamic section that features news, etc. This will be responsive, change when the display changes. Non-linear scrolling.

2.0 Our Work This section will ‘tell’ a visitor the main information about ASARECA. The key areas include:

- About ASARECA- ASARECA Board of Directors,- Secretariat (Staff, Programs, & Units, Staff Profiles)- National Focal Persons,- General Assembly,- OP2 Themes,- Featured programs,- Project Portfolio



3.0 Sub-grantee Information This section will highlight information that is useful for people engaged on ASARECA projects:

- Research sub-grant management guidelines- ESS Framework- M&E reference documents- Publication guidelines- Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines

4.0 Calendar of Events Planned events calendar: both upcoming and past. This will aggregate events from the sub-websites.Workshops: This section will list past, current and future workshops with links to the related documentation (concept, report, and presentations)

5.0 Announcements All announcements – Research calls, vacancies, competitions, tenders etc.

6.0 Our Products This section will include all knowledge products produced by ASARECA. These include communication products, tools, publications, newsletters, databases, inventory of TIMPs, videos, audio resources, and training materials.

7.0 Highlights This section will have captions/ summaries of news & events. (Features, media highlights, press releases, ASARECA in the News.)

8.0 Useful resources A list of links to online resources, glossary of terms, list of acronyms, FAQs, contacts database, list of other related resources and online tools

9.0 Contact Us A contact us/ feedback section

10.0 Search The search function will appear in all sections of the Website

11.0 Emerging Technologies Web 2.0/3.0, Translators, RSS Feeds

12.0 Our Partners Organizations that ASARECA works with

The sub- websites (themes and programmes) will have content similar to the main ASARECA website. The details of each sub-website will be determined at the inception meeting.

Content Management SystemNew Wave Technologies will develop a modular and open source CMS (preferably based on Drupal

7.22) to centrally manage the main ASARECA website and its sub-websites.



The CMS shall be developed to enable aggregation of content from the sub-website to the main website. For example, if one accesses publications on the ASARECA website, it shall also be able to pool together all the publications on the respective programme websites and so on.

The possibility to define accessibility rights will be given such that only certain members of the ASARECA community can access certain sections of the website. For example, a page for Board members where papers for upcoming meetings can be uploaded. It shall also allow for self-registration to these sites.

There shall be an inbuilt functionality that allows for easy online filing of forms, e.g. registration forms, consultant forms, etc

The site shall also enable people to register/ subscribe for publications and services e.g. newsletters, RSS feed etc.

Beta testing, Deployment and Training New Wave Technologies will carry out the following:

Beta testing of the Main ASARECA website, sub-websites and CMS in collaboration Information and Communication Technology Unit (ICTU).

Deploy the new website on the ASARECA hosting servers.

Provide training for ICT Unit and CPR staff.

New Wave Technologies will present mock ups for graphic designs for the different sites to

ASARECA which will form the basis of further improvements and/ changes.

Though the sub-websites’ look and feel may vary, the basic outline will be the same for all websites.

Once the design concepts have been approved, the main website and sub-websites will be

developed and presented to ASARECA for approval.

The prototypes of the websites/pages will be set up online and remote access shall be granted to

this site for all stake holders for feedback.

New Wave Technologies will propose the technologies we will use under its development

environment. See section 5. We have noted that the ASARECA website will be hosted in a Linux

environment, on an Apache web server.

Responsiveness Requirement

The new websites will: Be of variable width and height to ensure compatibility with multiple displays.

Allow for non- linear scrolling.



Be user friendly and cross browser compatible

ASARECA will be able to modify the look of the content on the websites. The navigation structure

will be determined by ASARECA and shall be implemented accordingly. The core features will

include amongst others:

Content Management System, Unlimited number of menus & categories Archiving capabilities Feedback forms Search Engine Optimization Text Only version features

The developed portal will be deployed at a designated host based on the following methodology

Feature Explanation

1. Search capabilities An internal Search Engine for the website that searches the Website with search results disaggregated according to key headers.

2. User accounts The accounts will be available for all ASARECA personnel and relevant partners and will be used to access certain restricted features of the Websites.

3. Access Rights and Control

The websites need to have defined access rights for user registration systems, subscriptions and permissions as well as the site security protocols with in the selected content management system.This is aimed at enabling different user groups to access specific private areas and share information and data specific to their needs.

4. User Accounts The accounts will be available for all ASARECA personnel and relevant partners and will be used to access certain restricted features of the websites.

5. Access Rights and Control

The websites need to have defined access rights for user registration systems, subscriptions and permissions as well as the site security protocols within the selected content management system. This is aimed at enabling different user groups to access specific private areas and share information and data specific to their needs.

The Website will be designed in such a way to ensure that only the information relevant to a particular user or user group is accessible. Posting capabilities will also be restricted. New Wave Technologies will design an ‘access control plan’ that suits the needs of ASARECA and at the same time ensures the security of the information.



6. Highlights Section This will be incorporated into the Website CMSs. The news section will be provided to facilitate the effective communication of timely and relevant news concerning Programmes and/ or its partners. This section will feed information directly into the ASARECA main page News section. The main CMS will keep a log of news items entered the programme CMSs.

7. Website Navigation and Site Map

The websites navigation system is to be intuitive and easy to use, and provide direct access to a variety of content and facilities on the web

8. Archive section As appropriate, old news, and other old articles will be moved to the Archives section of the Website. The New Wave Technologies and ASARECA shall agree on an archiving policy. All operations like searches and views will be available for archived information as well.

9. Emerging media and Technologies

Video: The Website will have a video library from which the users can select and search for different video content the website has to offer. A page dedicated for this purpose should be developed.

Translators: the websites will have language translation features for translation into other international languages.

Social Media Web Interfaces: The websites will have feeds from the social websites like Facebook, Twitter etc to allow for maximum interaction on the websites blogs/ blog pages.

RSS feeds: The websites will be integrated with some of the popular Analytical Sites like Google Analytics.

Web 2.0 and 3.0 tool: The websites will allow for integration of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 tools like Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube among others.

10. Application Integration

The Website will be designed in such a way as to ease the integration of various applications as recommended by ASARECA.

11. Text Only Version Text only version features of the websites are to be developed to allow users to select this option in areas with slow internet speeds.

12. Website Security We shall ensure that the website code is adequately secured from common security loopholes in order to preserve the integrity of the site. The website should be proofed against cross-site scripting, SQL injection, session hijacking, insecure object references, security mis-configuration and any other exploitable security issues.

Access to the backend will only be granted to SSL connections.



13. Website Statistics The websites will be able to provide user statistics on the various materials available on all websites in the CMS.

14. Audit trails In addition to user account based control and security, the Website will feature audit trails. The administrator will always receive an email whenever and important event occurs to the content available on the Website.

15. Backups Automated backups of the Website will be integrated into the Website being developed and made easily manageable by the ASARECA IT Technical team,

And additional methodology

Item Approach

Site Superstructure We shall abide by the clients’ terms of reference. We additionally propose to use modern web design tools to deliver an appealing and user-friendly website. The portal will have the following attractive attributes:

A futuristic and simple design Appealing and professional style Consistent overall layout Consistent look and feel Rational space usage – easy to navigate Not too many graphics; therefore easy to load and suitable

for the slow internet speeds in Uganda. A well designed site navigation that eases finding of

information on the website for both experts and novices

The interface will be developed using XHTML, CSS, together with web 2.0/3.0 graphics to give it a desirable aesthetic touch. The interface will be kept as simple as possible to enable a shorter learning curve and easy navigation. JavaScript will be used for data validation and dialog boxes whereas AJAX and XML will be used for dynamic loading of pages.

We shall partly develop a logical CMS and use DrupalTM for the dynamic part of the website because of its flexibility, security, ease-of-use once set up and for scalability. We have a rich experience in Drupal from the more than 50 websites developed with this technology.



The proposed CMS and proposed hosting solution (in the later parts of this proposal) will enable the client to generate additional sub-domains for the portal based on the content and index content in major search engines by using clean/search engine friendly links.

ASARECA shall acquire ownership of all assignment deliverables, source code, software, databases and user manuals, in their tangible form (both hard and soft copies) and the right to use them as deem fit. The deliverables may thus not be published or used without the express permission of ASARECA.

The client will retain the rights of the source code, software and database. All credentials will be handed to client at the end of project delivery phase.

A dynamic, interactive, multi-lingual web portal with appropriate security architecture and key functionalities that include; a Multi-user Content Management System (CMS); Search features; Multi-lingual information; Ratings and reviews; Blogging, commentary and discussion forums; Uploads and downloads; Web-mail system; Subscriptions and access rights for various users; live updates from social networks; Facebook and Twitter, among others.

Our offer includes browser/system enabled translation tools for recognized international languages.

Provide necessary software (if applicable) to maintain site internally as decided by the client

We shall install Adobe Creative Suite software at the client’s premises and will offer introductory tutorials in image editing/optimization for instance if required

Provide syndicated content capabilities where necessary - Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

We propose an easy to use and automated RSS feed module developed in Extensible Mark Up Language (XML) so as to allow users and the site visitor s to keep updated automatically without out even visiting the site.

However the client will be required to specify the source of



syndication.

As a basic deliverable, news and updates from all the ASARECA sub-websites will be aggregated at the main ASARECA website via RSS

Links and search capability We shall implement functionality to automatically and manually tag content to key words so that visibility of that content is improved across the web. Our proposed solution will easily take care of this.

We shall also implement automated title tags to inform the user of the link destination.

Provide a tool to measure website activity such as web traffic analysis, path analysis, visitor trends, page views, entry pages, top pages, exit pages, page-length stay, and Technical analysis: browsers and platforms. Include programming and configuration of Google Analytics or any other system or software to monitor the ranking of the web site.

We suggest the use of Google Analytics TM as a tool of choice for this and other analytical functions

We shall cub down directory listings or script running by implementing an index page in every directory to redirect any user to the necessary destination.

The website will have secure login to private links in which registered users will be able to post, upload data/information.

A back-end interface will be implemented in Drupal 7TM to allow the website administrators (at the ASARECA headquarters and Regional sites) to change content on the live website.

The website will have a CAPTCHA implemented on every registration and submission form to avoid bots registering on the website.

Storage capability The portal will be developed using MySQL. It is scalable enough to handle large amounts of concurrent data. The storage capability of our website is unlimited and may only be handicapped by server storage.

A user oriented approach to develop the site structure and navigation of theWebsite

We shall embed User Generated Content tools such as comment and feedback tools. We shall involve the client at every stage of designing the website structure and navigation.



SECTION VI. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS (INCLUDING IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE)

Specifications: Redesign, develop, and implement a new ASARECA Website (www.asareca.org)

INTRODUCTIONThe Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) is a non-political and non-profit making organization of the National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIs) of eleven (11) countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Over the years, ASARECA has invested considerably in stimulating the transformation of the agricultural sector to improve livelihoods of communities, farmers, pastoralists, and fisher folks among others in the Eastern and Central Africa (ECA) Sub-region. By pursuance of its Mission, of enhancing regional collective action in agricultural research for development, extension, training and education so as to promote economic growth, poverty reduction, hunger eradication, and sustainable use of resources in Eastern and Central Africa, ASARECA aims to promote the generation and utilization of technologies and innovations in the sub-region. This is intended at increasing the efficiency of agricultural research in the sub-region to facilitate economic growth, food security and competitiveness through productive and sustainable agriculture. To drive the achievement of this purpose, ASARECA identified the following as strategic interventions: (a) Strengthening of gender-responsive governance and management systems,(b) Enhancement of the generation of demand driven agricultural technologies and innovations,(c) Enhancement of the adoption of policy options by decision makers to improve performance of

the agricultural sector,(d) Strengthening of capacity for implementing agricultural research for development, and(e) Enhancement of availability of information and knowledge on agricultural technologies and

innovationsASARECA WEBSITEThe ASARECA website, www.asareca.org was setup in 2001, re-designed in 2004. It was further redesigned in 2008 and 2011 to reflect changes that had taken place at ASARECA.

ASARECA has just completed OP1 from 2008 to 2013 and has begun OP2 (2014 to 2018) and as such the need to re-design the website to respond to OP2. Under OP1, ASARECA implemented several projects and a lot of knowledge and information has been generated in the context of these projects. The data, information and knowledge generated by ASARECA projects and activities during the OP1 period were captured, organised and packaged into targeted communication products. These communication products were designed to be responsive to the needs of specific stakeholders and include training resources, reports, technical and training manuals, research data, research papers, journal articles, policy briefs, books, pamphlets, brochures, position papers, newsletters and video documentaries. An invenroty of technologies, innovations and management practices (TIMPs), which are available for dissemination to and



uptake by farmers, has also been developed. The TIMPs include technologies and innovations generated through the ASARECA research programmes, as well as those generated by partners in the ECA, especially NARIs and universities.

The ASARECA website is the most important route used for disseminating information to many stakeholders. It is the go to place for information for ECA.New tools, approaches, techniques have come up since the last re-design effort and as such there is need to develop a new website to accommodate them. There has also been growth in the use of mobile computing and other newer technologies such as Web 2.0/3.0 technologies.In order for ASARECA to reap from the benefits of highly integrated website while catering for all its audiences, there is urgent need for the website to be redesigned.

The target audience for the ASARECA website include policy makers, farmers, national, regional and international organizations working in agricultural research, extension, training and education; universities and advanced research institutes, private sector, agricultural service providers; NGOs; development partners and the media amongst others

OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT The overall objective of this assignment is to re-design, develop, and implement an interactive website for ASARECA.

SCOPE OF WORK Summary of key tasksThe provider (s) will undertake the following tasks:(a) Review the needs assessment report from ASARECA and identify key elements to include in the

redesign effort.(b) Review existing websites of similar organizations and pick out key features that could enrich

the redesign effort.(c) Develop a new design and layout for the new ASARECA website. (d) Develop a Content Management Systems(CMS). (e) Develop the new website on a test environment.(f) Deploy the new website on the ASARECA hosting servers.(g) Train ASARECA ICT Unit and CPR Unit staff. (h) Prepare detailed documentation to cover all the technical aspects of the Website. (i) Provide user and administrators manuals.Details of key tasks1. Key design features

It is expected that the new website will be a multisite that will allow for inter-operability, aggregate content from the sub-websites to the main website, and allow integration with Web 2.0/3.0 toolsThe consultants will redesign the ASARECA website to accommodate the following:-

The ASARECA brand should have its own unique “look”. This should enable a web user to recognise it as belonging to the ASARECA brand. In order to achieve brand consistency, everything visual will be inter-linked and link back to the core brand look. The ASARECA logo will be used in a consistent way across the web pages (even programmes). The application of logos, typography, colour ranges and design styles should be consistent with



the organization’s brand proposition/ brand application and publications guidelines. Consistent colour ranges and design styles will be applied.

The new site should be less visually crowded and more cleanly organized.

Design should anticipate and provide for the different types of content. It is necessary to organize the site content into taxonomies and hierarchies of information and to ensure the underlying structure of the site and its content is well constructed.

There is a need to integrate more varied forms of content including photos, videos, slide shows and audio files as well as more user support tools such as training guides/packs, toolkits, manuals, booklets, handbooks, reports and papers produced by projects.

Capability to enable feedback with other users through the site.

Functionality to link or feature external content of interest. These inlcude links to the relevant sites, which provide interactive features such as discussion forums, user feedback. ASARECA will consider the use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flikr amongst others

A sitemap that shows a clear navigational path structure

A total of 12 sub-websites will be integrated into the newly redesigned ASARECA website. These are High Value Non-Staple Crops, Livestock & Fisheries, Natural Resource Management & Biodiversity, Knowledge Management & Upscaling, Staple Crops, Agrobiodiversity and Technology, and PAAP Programmes; and the Partnerships & Capacity Development, M&E, Gender Mainsreaming, EAAPP, ESS, and EAPGREN Unit. Each of these sub-websites will bear all the sections available on the main ASARECA website. The ASARECA main website will be able to pool content from the related sections of the programmes’ sub-websites. These 12 sub-websites will be accessible through sub-domains created off the ASARECA website.

2. Layout The ASARECA Website is to be structured with a modern layout that gives a user access to

all the desired information at a glance. The main website will have the initial sections as given in the table below. However, the

modular CMS shall enable the secretariat to add other sections and content pages on the fly.

# Section Description1.0 Home Page Welcome page for ASARECA. It will contain links to the

various sections and will also have dynamic section that features news, etc. This should be responsive, change when display change. Non-linear scrolling.

2.0 Our work This section will ‘tell’ a visitor the main information about ASARECA. The key areas include: About ASARECA, ASARECA Board of Directors, Secretariat (Staff, Programs & Units, Staff Profiles), National Focal Persons, General Assembly, OP2 Themes, Featured programs, Project Portfolio

3.0 Sub-grantee Information

This section will highlight information that are useful for people engaged on ASARECA projects: Research sub-grant management guidelines, ESS framework, M&E



# Section DescriptionReference documents, Publication guidelines, Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines

4.0 Calendar of Events

Planned events calendar, both upcoming and past. This will aggregate events from the sub-websitesWorkshops: This section will list past, current, and future workshops with links to the related documentation (concept, report and presentations)

5.0 Announcements All announcements - Research calls, vacancies, competitions, Tenders etc.

6.0 Our products This section will include all knowledge products produced by ASARECA. These include communication products, tools, publications, newsletters, databases, inventory of TIMPs, videos, audio resources, training materials.

7.0 Highlights This section will have captions/summaries of news & events. (Features, media highlights, press releases, ASARECA in the news.)

8.0 Useful resources A list of links to online resources, glossary of terms, list of acronyms, FAQs, contacts database, list of other related resources, and online tools

9.0 Contact Us A contact us/feedback section10.0 Search The search function will appear in all sections of the

website11.0 Emerging

TechnologiesWeb 2.0/3.0, Translators, RSS Feeds

12.0 Our Partners Organizations that ASARECA works with

The sub-websites (themes and programmes) will have content similar to the main ASARECA website. The details of each sub-website will be determined the inception meeting

3. Content Management System (CMS)

The Consultant shall develop a modular and open source CMS (preferably based on Drupal 7.0) to centrally manage the main ASARECA website and its sub-websites.

The CMS should be developed to enable aggregation of content from the sub-website to the main website whenever a similar function is accessed at the main ASARECA website. For example, if one accesses publications on the ASARECA website, it should also be able to pool together all the publications on the respective programme websites, and so on.

The possibility to define accessibility rights should be given so that only certain members of the ASARECA community can access certain sections of the website. For example a page for Board members where papers for upcoming meetings can be uploaded. It should also allow for self registration to these sites

There should be an inbuilt functionality that allows for easy online filling of forms, e.g. registration forms, consultant forms, etc

The site should also enable people to register/ subscribe for publications and services e.g. the newsletters, RSS feeds, etc



4. Beta Testing, Deployment, and Training

The consultant will carry out the following: Beta testing of the Main ASARECA website, sub-websites, and CMS in collaboration

Information and Communication Technology Unit (ICTU). Deploy the new website on the ASARECA hosting servers. Provide training for ICT Unit and CPR Unit staff.

METHODOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGIESThe Consultant shall present mock-ups for graphic designs for the different sites to ASARECA which shall form the basis of further improvements and/or changes. The idea is that although sub-websites look and feel may vary, the basic outline will be the same for all the websites. Once the design concepts have been approved, the main website and sub-websites will be developed and presented to ASARECA for approval. The prototypes of the websites/pages will be set up online and remote access shall be granted to this site for all stake holders for feedback.The consultants will propose the technologies they will use under their development environment. However, the developer should bear in mind that the ASARECA website will be hosted in a linux environment, on an Apache webserver.

REQUIREMENTS DETAILSThe new websites will: Be of variable width and height to ensure compatibility with multiple displays. Allow for non-linear scrolling. Be user friendly and cross browser compatible.

ASARECA should be able to modify the look of the content on the websites. The navigation structure will be determined by ASARECA and shall be implemented accordingly. The core features will include amongst others: Content Management System, unlimited number of menus & categories, Archiving capabilities, Feedback forms, Search Engine Optimization, Text only version features

The following features shall be designed by the consultant and developed and integrated into the Websites and set as standard:

Search Capabilities An Internal search Engine for the website that, searches the Website with search results disaggregated according to key headers.

User Accounts The accounts will available for all ASARECA personnel, and relevant partners and will be used to access certain restricted features of the websites

Access Rights and Control The websites need to have defined access rights for user registration systems, subscriptions, and permissions as well as the site security protocols within the selected content management system.



This is aimed at enabling different user groups to access specific private areas and share information and data specific to their needs.The Website will be designed in such a way to ensure that only the information relevant to a particular user or user group is accessible. Posting capabilities shall also be restricted. The consultant will design an “access control plan” that suits the needs of ASARECA and at the same time ensures security of the information.

Highlights Section Highlights section shall be incorporated into the Website CMSs. The news section will be provided to facilitate the effective communication of timely and relevant news concerning Programmes and/or its partners. This section will feed information directly into the ASARECA main page News section. The main CMS will keep a log of news items entered via the programme CMSs

Website Navigation and SiteMapThe websites navigation system is to be intuitive and easy to use, and provide direct access to a variety of content and facilities on the websites, a sitemap is to be available for users on the ASARECA website.

Archive Section As appropriate, old news, and other old articles will be moved to the Archives section of the Website. The developer and the ASARECA shall agree on an archiving policy. All operations like searches and views will be available for archived information as well.

Emerging Media and Technologies Video: The Website should have a video library from which users can select and search for

different video content the website has to offer. A page dedicated for this purpose should be developed.

Translators: The websites should have language translation features for translation into other international languages.

Social Media Web Interfaces: The websites should have feeds from the social websites like facebook, twitter to allow for maximum interaction on the websites’ blogs/blog pages

RSS feeds: The websites should have functioning RSS feeds for users to be able to subscribe and get updates on new information.

Analysis Integration: The websites should be integrated with some of the popular Analytical Sites like Google Analytics.

Web 2.0 and 3.0 tool: The websites should allow for integration of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 tools including Blogs, Twitter, Face Book, YuTube, amongst others.

Application Integration The Website will be designed in such a way as to ease the integration of various applications like MS Word, MS Access, MS excel and any other software recommended by ASARECA.

Text Only Version.Text only version features of the websites is to be developed to allow users to select this option in areas with slow internet speeds.



Website Security The developers should ensure that the website code is adequately secured from common security loopholes in order to preserve the integrity of the site. The website should be proofed against cross-site scripting, SQL injection, session hijacking, insecure object references, security misconfiguration and any other exploitable security issues.Access to the backend should only be granted to SSL connections.

Website StatisticsThe websites should be able to provide user statistics on the various materials available on all websites in the CMS.

Audit Trails In addition to user account based access control, and security, the Website will feature audit trails. The administrator will always receive an email whenever an important event occurs to the content available on the Website.

Backups Automated backups of the Website will be integrated into the website being developed, and made easily manageable by the ASARECA IT Technical team.


Documents

· Web viewThe Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) is a non-political not for profit organisation of the …