Finance & Management Committee
September 10, 2024
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Sean Maher
City Administrator Citywide Director of
Communications
SUBJECT: Website Design and Development DATE: August 26, 2024 Services, Contract Extension
RECOMMENDATION
Resolution Waiving The Competitive Multiple-Step Solicitation Process Required For The Acquisition Of Information Technology Systems, And Authorizing The City Administrator To Amend The Professional Services Agreement With Exygy, Inc. For Website Design And Development Services For The City’s Website To Extend The Term By An Additional Year, Through June 30, 2025, And Increase The Compensation By An Amount Not To Exceed $120,000.00 For A Total Contract Amount Of $987,000, With The Option To Extend By An Additional 18 Months, Through December 31, 2026, Not To Exceed $1,047,000, Subject To Funding Availability Without Returning To Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Adopting the proposed resolution authorizes the City Administrator to amend the existing Professional Services Agreement (Agreement) with Exygy, Inc., which has been providing critically needed services to support the City’s Oaklandca.gov website since February 2021.
Exygy will complete their current scope of work by June 30, 2024. The proposed resolution will extend the agreement term for an additional year, until June 30, 2025, at a cost of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars ($120,000.00). Their current agreement has a total cost not to exceed eight-hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars ($867,000), and with this increase, their total contract amount will be nine-hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars ($987,000).
Under the extended agreement, the City Administrator’s Office will continue to receive ongoing website maintenance support and improvements, including much-needed security upgrades.
The contract is limited in size and scope as we migrate the City of Oakland’s (City) website to a new Content Management System. This move will support the City in making swifter progress on priorities related to enhanced security, multilingual content, and staff authoring.
Jestin Johnson (Aug 30, 2024 09:59 PDT)
Aug 30, 2024
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Website Design and Development Services, Contract Extension Date: August 26, 2024 Page 2
Finance & Management Committee
September 10, 2024
Staff anticipates that it is unlikely we will need to use the option to extend a full 18 months past June 30th, 2025, due to Resolution 86517 where staff is upgrading the City’s existing website content publishing platform to OpenCities and the current Craft Web Publishing Platform will be decommissioned.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The City has been engaged in a multi-year process to redesign and re-architect the City’s website and our approach to digital service delivery. The approach is to:
• Retool our service processes to make them simpler and easier to access. • Design interfaces for real-world users—both staff and residents—and test those designs to be sure they work.
• Use data and analytics to define high demand needs and prioritize those services as we build the site.
• Inspire City staff to try new approaches and foster new relationships with the community based on trust and mutually beneficial outcomes.
Staff in the City Administrator’s office have worked to keep the website up and respond to the needs of our staff and our community but haven’t had the internal capacity to iterate quickly enough to meet City staff and the community’s evolving needs. To make progress more swiftly and ensure the stability of our website, staff identified the need to bring in a partner with expertise in user research, user experience design, information architecture, accessible website development and deployment, and content strategy. Without a budget to hire a team with the qualifications to perform all these roles, the option providing the most stability was finding a qualified firm that could bring in the right support as needed.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Exygy, Inc. was selected to be this partner through a formal RFP process (RFQ: 236515). Exygy is a full-stack digital agency with over a decade of experience and expertise in everything from engineering and design to product and content strategy. Their team has a wealth of experience building inclusive, highly functional websites for government agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Unified School District, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), The Judicial Council of California, The City and County of San Francisco, and Alameda County. Most of Exygy’s projects involve partnering with a mix of community members, local stakeholders, community-based organizations, and government teams to lead successful projects that ensure lasting value to the communities they serve.
Criteria used to select the firm included:
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Website Design and Development Services, Contract Extension Date: August 26, 2024 Page 3
Finance & Management Committee
September 10, 2024
• the team’s experience in working with local government partners, • the professional background and qualification of the team members, • the capacity of the organization to take on a project of this size, as well as the understanding of the nature and extent of the services required.
Website Development Roadmap
Since embarking on this partnership in February 2021, Exygy, in collaboration with City staff, conducted a thorough discovery process to identify the top priorities, defined a product roadmap, and began work to improve the online service experience and help people find information related to public meetings. Staff from across the City of Oakland, service providers, and community members have helped define the priorities.
Key priorities have been and/or continue to be addressed since our engagement with Exygy, Inc. began, including:
1. Improved Information Architecture (IA) & Navigation
2. Improved Search
3. Welcoming and Easy to Use Navigation
4. Improved in-page navigation
5. Surfaced key content
6. Consistent User Experience Design
7. Unified Content Strategy
8. Improvements to the Visual Design
9. Accessibility Improvements and Accessibility Training for Staff
10. Multilingual Content Strategy
11. Improved Readability
12. Improved website Style Guide
13. Expanded Online Services
14. Redesigned Service Landing Pages 15. Additional Online Service Delivery
16. Staff Training & Support.
17. Content Templates
18. Improved Authoring Experience
This year, Exygy and City staff will focus on supporting the migration of the content management system that powers the website to a new content management system.
Staff anticipates that it is unlikely we will need to use the option to extend a full 18 months past June 30th, 2025 due to Resolution 86517 where staff is upgrading our existing website content publishing platform to OpenCities and the current Craft Web Publishing Platform will be decommissioned.
Waiver of Competitive Process
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Website Design and Development Services, Contract Extension Date: August 26, 2024 Page 4
Finance & Management Committee
September 10, 2024
Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) Section 2.04.042.B requires that the City Administrator conduct a competitive multi-step solicitation process for the acquisition of any computerized or information technology systems. OMC Section 2.04.042.C permits the City Council to waive the competitive process upon a recommendation of the City Administrator and finding determination by the City Council that it is in the City’s best interests to waive the solicitation processes.
Staff recommends that it is in the best interest of the City to waive the multi-step solicitation process to build on the work done to date and ensure ongoing improvements and sustainability of the City’s website while the City migrates to a new Content Management System.
The City Administrator has determined that this contract is professional, scientific or technical, and temporary in nature, and the performance of this contract shall not result in the loss of employment or salary by any person having permanent status in the competitive services.
That the Council finds and determines that pursuant to OMC Section 2.04.042.D, for the reasons stated above and in the City Administrator’s report accompanying this resolution, it is in the best interests of the City to waive the competitive multi-step solicitation process for the information technology services to be purchased under the proposed contract, and so waives the requirements.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed contract amendment will not exceed $120,000 for fiscal years 2024-25. This funding was appropriated by the City Council in the Adopted Midcycle Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 (Resolution No. 89804). Funds are available in the Information Technology Fund (4600), City Administrator: Communications & Media Org (02112), and Administrative Project (1000002).
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Oakland’s website (oaklandca.gov) receives about 2.5 million unique visitors per year looking to access City services or information online.
Exygy, in partnership with City Staff, is analyzing user analytics and conducting user testing to ensure that our updates serve our community’s needs and align with the principles of digital service delivery.
COORDINATION
The core team who helped develop the goals and evaluate the firms consisted of representatives from the City Administrator’s Office, the Communications Office, ADA Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
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Programs, Information Technology, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Works, the Department of Race & Equity, the Planning and Building Department, and the Mayor’s Office.
Exygy, Inc. collaborated with representatives from every City department to develop the website roadmap. City staff generated over 680 ideas on how to improve the website. Exygy, Inc. has conducted one-on-one interviews with over 50 staff members and hosted workshops that have engaged many more.
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The City awarded the initial agreement with Exygy, Inc. through a formal RFP process. Staff have been satisfied with the services delivered to date. Exygy, Inc has completed the initial scope of work, which has included: creating a shared vision and roadmap, foundational improvements to the design and structure of the website, resulting in improved search and navigation, and prioritized redesigns of critical elements of the City of Oakland’s website, including service pages and public meetings. In addition, the team has supported the City of Oakland with ongoing website maintenance and improvements.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: By digitizing processes and making the necessary organizational changes, the City of Oakland can improve the delivery of services, make our operations more efficient, and result in cost savings and increased revenue.
Environmental: As additional City processes are automated and digitized, fewer paper forms will be used, thereby reducing paper consumption and minimizing the use of electronic printers and ink. Also, the City’s collective carbon footprint may be reduced as more citizens are able to access services through the City’s website instead of City Hall.
Race & Equity: By harnessing technology, we can serve people where they are: on mobile devices using simpler, human-centered interfaces accessible at all times. Fair, inclusive, and equitable access to services must be factored into the design of digital services. We achieve this goal through ongoing user research and testing with our community members who have traditionally been hardest to reach: people who speak limited English and residents with limited literacy or disabilities or poor access to advanced technologies such as the latest smartphone or fastest Wi-Fi connection. When we make our services more accessible for people who have faced the most significant barriers to accessing government services, they, in turn, become more accessible for everyone.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Waiving The Competitive Multiple-Step Solicitation Process Required For The Acquisition Of Information Technology Systems, And Authorizing The City Administrator To Amend The Professional Services Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Website Design and Development Services, Contract Extension Date: August 26, 2024 Page 6
Finance & Management Committee
September 10, 2024
Agreement With Exygy, Inc For Website Design And Development Services For The City’s Website To Extend The Term By An Additional Year And Increase The Compensation By An Amount Not To Exceed $120,000.00 For A Total Contract Amount Of $987,000.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Sean Maher, Citywide Director of Communications, at (510) 473-2610.
Respectfully submitted,
Sean Maher
Citywide Director of Communications, CAO
Signature:
Email:
Sean Maher
Sean Maher (Aug 29, 2024 10:22 PDT)
[email protected]