The OPCC had been operating with the same website supplier since the office was established in 2012, after the Cleveland Police Authority website was archived. As the contract with the supplier drew to a close and in preparation for a new PCC to be elected, the OPCC went out to tender for a new supplier to design, develop, launch and host a new PCC website.
As well as creating a more visually attractive and more easily navigable site, a key driver in seeking a new website was to make the OPCC online presence more accessible for those with additional needs. The previous OPCC website was not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (known as WCAG 2.1). These guidelines, endorsed by the UK government, explain how to make digital services, websites and apps accessible to everyone, including users with impairments to their vision, hearing, mobility and thinking/understanding. All public sector website must be compliant as of September 2020.
An Open Tender Procurement was the chosen as the most effective way to procure the service to enable a wide selection of bidders to apply. An open tender is a competitive exercise whereby a tender is advertised and all bidders whom express an interest can access the tender documentation and submit a bid.
One bid was received by Mixd, a Leeds-based user experience digital agency specialising in information design for the public sector. With over 70 public sector clients they specialise in developing resilient and future-proof websites that meet Government Digital Service (GDS) Service Standard.
The 48 month contract will run from February 2020 to February 2024, with an option to extend by an additional year. This additional year will give the OPCC resilience with a PCC election now expected to take place in 2025.
The contract has a value of £54,786, broken down into:
• Website Design and CMS (Year 1 only): £29,070
• Hosting (48 months): £12,756
• Support (48 months): £12, 960
Decision 2020-00250315 – OPCC Website Redevelopment (application, 195kB)