Request for Proposal: Policies, Manuals & Guidelines Management Portal

Lagos, Nigeria
Closing date for applications: 2019-07-31

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Summary

1 Introduction

Africa Re has initiated a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to identify a vendor qualified to plan, execute and deliver a policy and guidelines management portal using Microsoft SharePoint.

The Corporation requires a vendor who has demonstrated experience and expertise using Enterprise Wiki feature of Microsoft SharePoint for content publishing, content usage, content creation and content maintenance.

2 About Africa Re

African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) is an International Financial Institution established on 24 February 1976 with Headquarters in Lagos (Nigeria). Africa Re has six Regional Offices in Casablanca (Morocco), Nairobi (Kenya), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Ebene (Mauritius), Lagos and Cairo (Egypt) as well as a wholly owned subsidiary in Johannesburg (South Africa).

Africa Re, the leading reinsurance company in Africa and the Middle East, is a for-profit pan-African financial institution with diplomatic status in its current 41 African member countries. Its shareholding is split between African (75%) and Non-African (25%) investors. African shareholding comprises 41 African states, the AfDB and more than 114 African insurance/reinsurance companies from the 41 member countries.

The corporation was founded with the following mission:

• Develop the insurance and reinsurance industry in Africa.

• Promote the growth of the African underwriting and retention capacities.

• Support of African economic development.

3 Background and Context

Today, collaboration (people working together) is the driving force for creating value behind most organizations. As Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has come to affect every facet of our personal and working lives, the traditional meaning of collaboration has shifted slightly. Collaboration is now almost synonymous with digital collaboration - people work with digital documents, use a range of software systems, and predominantly interact with each other electronically.

It is in that context that the Corporation has initiated the Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Wiki project which is an internal publishing site for accessing and sharing updated information within an organization. This project presents great value propositions and is in line with the digital innovation pillar of the 2019-2023 ICT Strategy which recommends implementing initiatives that will infuse innovative solutions to fuel digital transformations of the Corporation.

There are numerous organizational artefacts and informational assets that has been developed by the Corporation over the years. However, the following challenges have been observed:

• Document Size: Some of these documents are too large and are difficult to carry around.

• Document Format: Original editable versions are either corrupted or unavailable which makes it difficult to review and manage these documents.

• Documents Version Control: Some of these documents have undergone some reviews which are sometimes difficult to track and manage. Some of the reviews are in the form of administrative instructions that are sometimes not linked to these documents.

• Organizational Knowledge: Some of these documents have implicit interpretations and sometimes consistency in interpretation has been a challenge.

• Documents Access: Some of these documents are sometimes accessible by the wrong people or are not available to the right people.

4 Benefits

The following key benefits are expected to be derived from this digital innovation initiative:

• A single version of the truth - SharePoint Enterprise Wiki supports structured data and content in a wide variety of ways, allowing the creation of an Enterprise Content Management system that acts as a single repository that is designed to both store and share information (Rules, Policies, Procedures, Guidelines or tutorial) on an enterprise-wide scale.

• Findability of information - SharePoint includes search engines ever that makes finding the right content a faster more interactive experience.

• Enhance internal collaborative - SharePoint Enterprise Wiki is best suited to be an internal, collaborative, version-controlled tool for knowledge management and sharing. The information (Rules, Policies, Procedures, Guidelines, etc.) will be centrally managed, accessible enterprise-wise and enabling staff to work together better.

• Integration with Microsoft office tools - the seamless integration of SharePoint with Microsoft Office will provide the advantage of using a single platform that is user-friendly to staff of the Corporation. Africa Re’s staff members are already familiar with Microsoft Office suite and as a result, the onboarding time and efforts will be reduced (short learning curve).

• Allocating the right resources - The documents uploaded to the central repository will be made available to users on need to know basis.

• Proxy access to relevant external website: Links with external governance sites (sites built to support governance of areas like financial/insurance sector regulations or legal requirements) will enhance staff productivity.

5 Scope of Work

The selected vendor will help the Corporation to implement Enterprise Wiki site feature of Microsoft SharePoint on Office 365. The vendor will also be responsible for migrating existing documents to the portal in a wiki format. However, with a detailed Knowledge Transfer, the business owner can conduct support the vendor through this process.

It is expected that:

• The solution will help with digitizing documents for ease of access across platforms, channels or devices.

• The solution will help with version management of documents as well as relevant sections of the wiki pages that are modified.

• The solution will also have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section for enquiries relevant to sections of a policy.

• The solution will provide workflows for clarifications of different sections of the policy. The questions asked will be sent to the custodian of the policy for contextual interpretation and guidance.

• The solution will be available in our official languages (English and French).

• The solution will have a document management section for downloading the consolidated version of the policy or guideline in PDF or Microsoft Word format.

• The solution will also have an embedded search functionality.

• The solution will also management privileges and entitlements on a need to know basis.

6 Terms of Reference

The terms of reference for this project are implemented in line with the background information provided.

Term of Contract

• The initial term of contract for the portal will be negotiated at the time of contract award.

Vendor Selection and Contract Award

• Africa Re will conduct the selection and contract award in the following manner:

 This document will be posted on www.africa-re.com as well as distributed to a few select vendors.

 Proposals will be received and evaluated as described in the RFP. Selected vendors will be asked to make oral presentations to Africa Re. During this phase, it is expected that each vendor will come with a proof of concept with appropriate design mock-ups.

7 Methodology

A participatory methodology will be preferred where various stakeholders in the Corporation are consulted. The proposal should clearly outline the approach to be employed by the Consultant in undertaking all the elements of this project.

8 Proposal Format

Vendors will prepare proposals in compliance with all the instructions outlined in the RFP. Partial or Incomplete proposals will be rejected. A vendor official with legal authority to bind the vendor must sign the proposal. All proposals must be firm for acceptance within 30 days following the proposal opening. Africa Re will not pay for any expenses incurred by vendors during the proposal process.

Vendor’s proposals in response to this RFP will be incorporated into the final agreement between Africa Re and the selected vendor. The submitted proposals should include responses to each of the following sections in the proposed format:...

Please download full RFP below:

  • Request for Proposal: Policies, Manuals & Guidelines Management Portal

    Download PDF English 1.47 MB