MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY IN MANCHESTER

TENDER BRIEF: Creation of Educational Front End to the Museum's Collections
Management System


1.0     Summary of Requirements
The Access To Collections Information Project is funded by the Designation
Challenge Fund. It was a direct response to user needs. It aims to provide
intellectual and virtual access to the Museum's Collections Management
System through the web site and Museum-based kiosks.

Descriptions, narratives, digital images and contextual information on
20,000 items relating to the industrial and scientific development of the
Manchester region are being prepared and entered onto the Collections
Management System. The next step is to provide learner access. 


2.0     General

2.1     Background
The Museum, the largest science and technology museum to be situated in
historic, industrial buildings in the world, is the leading venue devoted to
science and industry in the North West. Set up as a charitable trust in 1983
and situated on the site of the oldest surviving passenger railway station
in the world, it has a special relationship with the North West. This is
reflected through the stories that it tells about Manchester's past, as the
world's first industrial city, and also through the scientific and
industrial collections that are unique to the region. These collections have
grown considerably over the years, and are designated by the Department of
Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as being of pre-eminent national and
international importance. It is one of 17 museums, to receive revenue
funding from the DCMS and, as part of this funding arrangement, went 'Free
to Everyone' on 1 December 2001.

2.2     Visitor Profile and Target Audiences
With over 400,000 visitors a year, the Museum is one of the most popular
museums in the UK and is firmly positioned in the 'day out' market. Over 70%
of visitors are families, 81% are on a day trip, 35% are children under
twelve, and 25% are educational groups on school visits (over 80,000
educational visits). Greater Manchester, Cheshire, and Lancashire are the
core geographical areas, with 85% of visitors coming from these counties. 

There have been a number of subtle changes to visiting patterns in the last
five years, such as an increase in the number of repeat visits from 53% in
1995 to 63% in 2000. The socio-economic profile of visitors has also altered
over the same period:  ABC1 visitors have dropped from 70% to 63%, while the
C2DE group has increased from 25% to 38%. More specifically the key target
audiences for the Museum are as follows: 
*       people throughout the North West, including families with children -
within 1.5 hours drive time
*       incoming tourists - foreign visitors and day-trippers
*       schools and educational groups
*       groups - special interest groups and coach parties
*       disabled and special needs groups. 

2.3     Web Audiences
The Museum identifies three broad categories of website users:
*       Browsers: casual, incidental or non-specialist interest visitors
motivated by leisure, aesthetic, family, social, informal educational or
self-improvement. This includes adults and families planning visits, local
people finding out what's on, and tourists shortlisting places to visit
*       Searchers: intentional visitors, who are focused and self-motivated,
exploring and pursuing a formal or informal interest/hobby
*       Researchers: intentional visitors driven by academic, professional
or strong personal interest. 

This project is aimed at searchers and researchers which include teachers
researching resources, pupils and students researching projects (both in
their educational establishments and at home), academics and professionals
researching collections, hobbyists and enthusiasts, and adults, families and
children following up visits.


3.0     Educational Front End

3.1     Aims
We wish to: 
*       offer a user-friendly welcoming front end for learners to use that
reflects "the user's mind set" 
*       provide information, scripted and presented in a set of
multi-layered formats for learning purposes
*       provide a framework which guides a learner through the system but
also allows them to drill down to a variety of different levels of
information
*       offer the detailed contextual information and interpretation of the
objects in an intuitive, user-centric, topic-based way
*       provide down-loadable learning and teaching resources including
on-line guides
*       complement the Collections Centre which provides physical access to
a significant proportion of the Museum's reserve collection as well as some
computerised access to interpretative information.

3.2     Key Findings from Audience Research
Research was commissioned by the Designated Museums in Manchester from
Morris Hargreaves McIntyre ('Great Expectations: Virtual Collections Access
in the Information Age') to understand how users perceive and interact with
virtual collections and what effect the immediate physical environment has
on user interactions with virtual objects. Their key findings which need to
be applied to this project are:
*       the first screen should be clear and give the main options
*       need to balance breadth and depth i.e. not too many options per
screen (suggest no more than six plus standard options) and not too many
levels
*       facility to enlarge thumbnails is essential
*       offer information in bite-size chunks
*       users value pop-ups as a way of providing extra information without
crowding the screen
*       need to recommend suitable external links.


4.0     Requirements

4.1     Functional Requirements
The Museum therefore requires a professional educational consultant to:
*       devise a user-friendly front end to the Collections Management
System - a welcome mat that captures the interest of potential users
*       devise a framework with pathways which will guide "searchers" and
"researchers" through the Collections Management System, reflecting their
mind set and acknowledging content differentiation
*       devise a format for pages within the framework that relate to the
Collections Management System data
*       identify possible on-line guides which include down-loadable
resources, and suggest a format/series of formats for developing them.

4.2     Methodology
*       consider and understand the Collections Management System namely the
current front end interface; the type of data and its format; and its
constraints
*       understand the nature of the objects in the Collections Management
System by liaising with Museum collections staff
*       develop an understanding of the Museum's web potential and other
multi-media applications
*       write intended learning outcomes (formal and informal)
*       develop a framework, front end and format for on-line guides.

4.3     Access
Any recommendations must ensure that the website is accessible to all to
comply with DDA.


5.0     Project Management

5.1     Project Timetable and Milestones

Invitation to tender    31 March 2003	
Deadline for submission 22 April 2003	
Interview shortlisted consultants       2 May 2003	
Appointment of consultant       5 May 2003	
Work begins     w/c 12 May 2003	
Submission of report    25 July 2003	


5.2     Project Funding
The Access To Collections Information Project is being funded through the
Designation Challenge Fund (DCF), which is administered by Resource, the
Council for Museums, Libraries, and Archives. The sum of £6,000 has been
allocated for developing the educational front end and this allocation
cannot be increased. Hence, tenders must fall within this budget and any
tenders that exceed the budget will automatically be eliminated.

5.3     Project Management
The project will be managed by Suzanne Spicer, Access & Learning Manager.


6.0     Tender Submissions

6.1     Tender Format
The tender must include the following:
*       an outline project proposal, responding to the project brief and
addressing the stated operational requirements 
*       price breakdown
*       proposed programme, confirming ability to meet the specified
completion date and including provision for interim submissions and
approvals of the work in progress 
*       evidence of relevant previous work, e.g. website references,
demonstration disks
*       contact details for two clients willing to provide references
relating to similar work
*       details of what further information or assistance would be required
from the Museum upon commencement of the project.

6.2     Selection Criteria
Tenders will be assessed according to the following criteria:
*       competitive price
*       quality of the proposal
*       proven track record 
*       proven record of understanding the needs of audiences/users 
*       client satisfaction.

6.3     Tender Deadline and Protocol
The deadline for receipt of the tender submission by the Museum is 4pm 22
April 2003. The tender may be submitted in either hard or electronic copy to
the contact person stated below at The Learning Centre, The Museum of
Science & Industry, Liverpool Road, Castlefields, Manchester B3 4FP or at
the email address stated below.

You should only make contact prior to submitting a tender if you require
factual clarification of the brief. Due to time constraints and to avoid
preferential treatment, there will be no provision for informal discussion
or interim presentations.  

The designated contact person is Suzanne Spicer, Access & Learning Manager.
Tel: 0161 606 0150; email: [log in to unmask]