BOARD MEETING DATE: March 7, 2003
AGENDA NO. 12
PROPOSAL:
Approve Task Order for Enhancements to Facilitate Increased Community Use of AQMD Website
SYNOPSIS:
On April 19, 2002, the Board approved a series of task orders under existing contracts for enhanced education and outreach to African-American, Hispanic, and Asian communities. One of these task orders entailed the assessment and proposed recommendations on reconstruction of AQMD’s web page to enhance communication and service to the Latino/Hispanic communities. Oralia Michel Marketing & Public Relations and its subcontractor have completed the first phase of this project and have provided AQMD with a set of recommendations based upon a multi-user group survey as well as their own review and analysis of the website. Staff recommends the commencement of the second phase of the website task order to implement the recommendations to facilitate access by non-English speaking members of the ethnic communities. This item sets forth the task order, deliverables, and timelines for the second phase for Board approval.
COMMITTEE:
Administrative, February 14, 2003, Recommended for Approval
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Approve the attached task order with Oralia Michel Marketing & Public Relations in an amount not to exceed $59,600 and authorize the Executive Officer to have consultant begin work.
Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer
Background
In August, 2001, Oralia Michel Marketing & Public Relations and its subcontractor, were selected by the Board through a competitive bid process to assist with the enhanced outreach effort by AQMD, especially to the Latino community.
As previously approved by the Board, this firm has completed the first phase of determining the appropriate AQMD website enhancements and this additional task order will facilitate the implementation of their recommendations.
The current AQMD website was originally developed in 1995. The goal was to ensure the rapid distribution of air quality information important to the community. That goal continues to be met today with between 150,000 and 225,000 user sessions (hits) every month.
Although the AQMD site continues to provide premium service-related information through content distribution, the internet as well as the on-line audience has changed drastically over the years. Today’s internet users are global and span all age groups, societal levels, and ethnicities. Some users are also generally less technically adept than when the internet originated.
This new audience places new demands on the AQMD web page. Although the current AQMD site has continued to grow, providing more and more content over the years, it could be vastly improved by addressing content organization, site design, site marketing, and the availability of content to ethnic and language diverse groups in Southern California and beyond.
Proposal
This follow-up task order will involve Oralia Michel Marketing & Public Relations, and its subcontractor, Cordoba Corporation, in the evaluation and selection of a multilingual machine translation service provider, the creation of style templates and design standards, and the development of policy and procedures manuals. Also included is training and technical support to appropriate District staff in the use of the new systems. Any contractor employee selection will be subject to approval by Information Management.
Resource Impacts
The funding for these services will be drawn down from funds set aside by the Board-approved April 17, 2001 contract with Oralia Michel Marketing & Public Relations, for a total amount not to exceed $59,600.
- Task Order for Website Multilingual Translation, Redesign, and Implementation
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