Website Design & Development Request for Proposal
This RFP is for design and development services for a new website for the Detroit Economic
Growth Corporation.
RFP Issued: June 15, 2015
Responses Due: 12:00 PM (Noon) July 2, 2015
Contract Awarded: July 15, 2015
Send any questions on the RFP to: tdsmith@degc.org
Send proposals to: Tiffini D. Smith
Director – Corporate Communications
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
500 Griswold, Suite 2200
Detroit, MI 48226
Goal for new website launch: December 2015
Company Overview
The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation is a private, non-profit corporation established in
1978 devoted exclusively to supporting Detroit’s economic development initiatives. DEGC has
been designed to make business success in Detroit possible. We know Detroit well, we know
the city's government, and we're aware of the countless opportunities the city has to offer. The
DEGC team consists of long-time members of the Detroit community who can inform
stakeholders about all the things that make investing in Detroit a full, rich experience. The
DEGC team possesses the professional skills, experience, expertise and knowledge necessary
to successfully navigate Detroit’s unique business and economic development process. We're
not part of the city of Detroit's government, but we are a long-time partner of it. We love Detroit,
and are dedicated to strengthening the city from the inside out.
DEGC acts as staff for a number of public authorities (listed below) whose board members are
appointed by the Mayor and approved by Detroit City Council. Each of those entities has distinct
responsibilities and powers that need to be able to be represented on the DEGC website.
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Downtown Development Authority (DDA) - supports private investment and business
growth within the central business district using a combination of property taxes,
grants, and other funds.
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Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (DBRA) - supports the redevelopment of
blighted, obsolete, or contaminated properties through state and local property tax
reimbursements and tax credits that can be used for specific cleanup and
development efforts.
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Economic Development Corporation (EDC) - supports private investment and
business growth within the neighborhoods throughout the city of Detroit using a
combination of taxes, grants, and other funds.
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Eight Mile Woodward Corridor Improvement Authority - supports private investment
and business growth of the southeast corner of the Woodward/8 Mile site previously
owned by the Michigan State Fair.
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Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC) - a subsidiary of the EDC, which
supports private investment and development within the NDC Project Area
commonly referred to as Jefferson Village.
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Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA) - provides financial incentives to
industrial and technological development projects via Tax Increment financing.
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Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA) - provides financial incentives to industrial
and commercial development projects via Tax Increment financing.
DEGC also manages economic development efforts funded by private and foundation
contributions, grants, and contracts. These “Special Initiatives” can last anywhere from a few
months to a few years and span a host of business sectors in the city of Detroit.
Current special initiatives include:
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Creative Corridor Incentive Fund - designed to attract creative sector businesses to
locate in the city of Detroit.
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D2D - Detroit Business to Business - designed to grow investment in the city by
connecting local buyers to local suppliers.
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Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (DBRA) - designed to to promote the
revitalization of environmentally distressed and blighted areas within the boundaries
of the City of Detroit, Michigan.
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Detroit Food and Ag Network - (DFAN) - Enhance the capacity of Metro Detroit's food
and agriculture industry by providing support services and technical assistance
aimed at alleviating barriers to growth.
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Green Grocer Project (GGP) - designed to help create competitive, sustainable
grocery offerings in Detroit while improving fresh food offerings for residents.
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Renewable Energy Detroit Initiative (REDI) -designed to attract and grow a Detroitbased cluster of energy-related component manufacturers, and industry service
providers.
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Motor City Match - matches the right buildings with the right businesses while also
providing competitive grants, loans and counseling to both building owners and
businesses.
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NEIdeas - NEIdeas is a small business challenge designed to reward ideas for
business growth. NEIdeas is intended to support existing businesses in a way that
will maintain and strengthen them in the cities and neighborhoods that need them the
most.
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REVOLVE Detroit - designed to foster the evolution and vibrancy of Detroit's
neighborhood business districts.
Our Audience
Our primary audience consists of several groups which include:
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Site Selectors
Current business owners/decision makers in the City
Business owners/decision makers considering Detroit
Commercial project development companies, consultants & subcontractors
Commercial real estate brokers
Commercial landlords in Detroit
Our secondary audience is investors and leaders who might be interested in our company and
our work. The secondary audience contains:
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Partners & Stakeholders (Board Members, Funders)
Relevant City and State departments (Mayors office, City Council, Other elected
officials)
Commercial banks/lenders
State and Federal departments involved with project funding
DEGC internal
General public
People who potentially want to work for DEGC
Current Website:
Our current website, www.degc.org, is about two years old and does not serve us well anymore.
We have recently gone through an organizational shift and rebranding and need to adjust the
website to reflect our transformation. We have traditionally been more conservative, but feel the
need to move towards a fresher more innovative web design that incorporates cutting edge
technology.
In general, the new website would be more visual; include hi-res images, infographics and other
visual tools to accent information. Currently, the site has the same banner image on every page
we would like to be able to use this prime space on the site to showcase different images that
sell Detroit, adding variety and uniqueness to each page. We would like a more modern design
with more graphics and punchy text blocks contrasted with a balanced amount of white space.
The current content management system (CMS) is simple to use, which is a major advantage
and a must have for the new site.
It has been difficult to find a way to incorporate all of our various authorities and initiatives into
the website and not have the site overwhelm the visitors. We would like to address this in the
new design.
New Website Objectives:
Our website’s number-one objective is to generate attraction leads and interest in doing
business in Detroit. An additional objective for our new website is to inform, educate, and
engage our audience about everything that we do (projects, initiatives, authorities, etc) while
positioning DEGC as a thought leader through resource content.
New Website Functionality Requirements
Our new website must have:
• An easy-to-use content management system (CMS) that includes:
o Ability to create additional pages as needed
o Document publishing and management system
o News and press release management system
o Ability to add more than one administrator
o Events list and calendar
• Training for up to 3 staff members on CMS
• Intuitive navigation
• Sites and Buildings component (GIS Mapping)
• Data visualization and interactivity (smart pages)
• Report generator
• Mobile responsiveness
• Clean and focused design
• Ability to track who is downloading RFPs, reports, documents so staff can follow up
• All applicable content imported from current site
• Optimized with SEO best practices
• Social media integration (share buttons, follow buttons, feeds.)
• Newsletter integration
• Email update sign-up form
• Contact Form
• Hosting Service
Optional Functionalities/Wish List
We would love to have the following in our new website, depending on how these elements
would impact timeline and/or budget. Please provide cost for these elements separately, and
note if any additional design or development time would be required.
• Advanced SEO work
• DEGC Intranet for staff
• Ability to create Infographics and Webgraphics
• User survey
• Salesforce Integration
Budget Details
As listed in the summary, our budget for this project is $50,000 - $75,000. While we prefer the
most cost-effective solution, all proposals that fall reasonably within this range will be
considered and weighed based on their merits. Proposals that offer flexibility in billing for non-
required elements added to the website after initial launch will also be considered, as we may
be able to budget for these additional website elements at a later date.
Proposal Requirements
Please include the following in your proposal response:
• Overview of your company
• Overview of how you will meet our objectives
• Explanation of your proposed platform/CMS
• Outline of your website design & development strategy
• Proposed website timeline from kickoff to launch
• Details about your team
• Recent design & development examples
• References
• Any key differentiators about you?
• Pricing with optional elements line-itemed
• Terms & conditions
RFP & Project Timeline Details
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RFP Issued: June 15, 2015
Responses Due: July 2, 2015
Finalists Selected & Contacted: July 8, 2015
Winner Selected & Contacted: July 13, 2015
Project Kick-off: July 15, 2015
New Website Launch Target Date: December 2015
Proposal Submission:
Proposals should be addressed as follows:
Tiffini D. Smith
Director – Corporate Communications
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
500 Griswold, Suite 2200
Detroit, MI 48226
tdsmith@degc.org
Hard Copies:
Proposers shall submit three (3) hard copies of the proposal in a sealed, opaque envelope. A
Proposer may submit the proposal by personal delivery or by mail, but not by facsimile.
Please mark the outside of the envelope as follows: “DEGC Website Design & Development
Services Proposal.” The envelope shall also include the PROPOSER’S RETURN ADDRESS.
Electronic Submittal:
All electronic proposals must be submitted in PDF format. Electronic proposals submitted via
email should not exceed 20 MB and cannot be submitted in zip file format. If the proposal
exceeds 20 MB, the Proposer shall provide a link to a secured site for proposal download (such
as DropBox or Google Drive).
THE DEGC MUST RECEIVE ALL PROPOSALS BY 12:00 PM (noon) ON July 2, 2015.
Proposers may withdraw their proposals by notifying the DEGC in writing at any time prior to the
submission deadline via mail or email. After the deadline, proposals shall become a record of
the DEGC and will not be returned to the Proposers.
Thank you for your interest in responding to this RFP with a proposal for our new website. We
look forward to your response.
If you have any questions, please contact Tiffini D. Smith at 313-237-4625 or tdsmith@degc.org