Dulwich Picture Gallery is currently seeking a software developer for its
digitisation project. Details of the post can be found below. The dealine
for applications is 31 January 2003.
Please forward this message to anyone you may think suitable or contact me
for more details.
Yours sincerely,
Leo Crane
Senior Fundraiser
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Gallery Road
London SE21 7AD
Direct Line: 020 8299 8715
Fax: 020 8299 8700
www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
"The most beautiful small art gallery in the world"
Sunday Telegraph
Current Exhibition: Arthur Rackham until 2 March 2003
Digitisation Project and New Website
Invitation to express interest in tendering
Dulwich Picture Gallery is England's oldest public art gallery housing a
collection of old master paintings in a building by Sir John Soane.
The Gallery invites suppliers to express their interest in tendering for
software to manage a collection of approximately 850 paintings, drawings,
silverware and furniture as well as the Gallery's international loan
exhibitions.
The Gallery also invites suppliers to express their interest in tendering
for the development of a website to host a virtual gallery and to meet the
Gallery's online needs in education, marketing, commercial operations and
fundraising.
Expressions of interest will be accepted for either or both projects.
Aims of the project
* To create a collections management system for the permanent collection and
loan exhibitions.
* To facilitate research on the collection through a comprehensive database
based on the collection management system with images, text and links
between records.
* To broaden access to the Gallery's collection through a digitised web
interface, creating a complete virtual Gallery online.
* To create a new, up-to-date website with the potential to expand according
to developing web technology.
* To provide a remote education facility to complement the work of the
education department.
Staff Structure
* The Gallery is employing a full-time project co-ordinator.
* The project co-ordinator will report to the Gallery's Senior Fundraiser.
* The developer will liaise primarily with the project co-ordinator.
* The developer will also be expected to liaise with a representative from
Curatorial & Exhibitions, Education, Marketing, Commercial Operations and
Development to discuss the individual needs of the departments.
Digitisation
Current database
The collection is currently managed by the Curatorial Department on a
FileMaker Pro database. The data is categorised in 86 categories including
basic information, conservation status, loan history, provenance and
valuation records. A copy of the database structure is available on request.
There is a separate FileMaker Pro database for temporary exhibitions and the
structure of this database is available on request.
New Collections Management System
Information from the existing database should be transferable onto a new
database. Alternatively, the developer may choose to enhance the existing
database. The Collections Management System should support SPECTRUM
procedures, particularly Cataloguing, Conservation, Loans in and Loans out
procedures.
The Gallery has approximately 660 paintings, 120 drawings, 20 pieces of
furniture and 50 pieces of silverware in its collection. All these pieces
need to be managed. The Gallery's project co-ordinator will be in charge of
data entry.
Digital images of the collection will come from an image library created by
the project co-ordinator. The image library will include low-resolution
images for use when browsing the database. There should also be access to
high-resolution versions for running off prints for the shop. The
high-resolution images will also be drawn from the image library.
Virtual Gallery
The virtual gallery should be drawn from the collections management system.
The gallery will be publicly accessible on the new website and only
non-sensitive information must be included. The developer must satisfy the
Gallery that security implications are answered.
The virtual gallery must be easy to navigate with a high-speed search
engine. This search facility should enable the user to group paintings by
category (e.g. artist, theme, school, date etc) and in effect create her or
his own online exhibitions. The virtual gallery should take advantage of the
many advantages of database-driven technology.
Staff Training
The project should include provision for training five members of staff on
the system. The system will need to be updated constantly to record
conservation records, loan histories and new photography.
Documentation
The developer must provide suitable documentation to assist the Gallery in
maintaining the database and web site in the future.
Website
Current Website
The Gallery's URL is www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
<http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk>. The existing website was launched
in February 2000. The design was felt to be sympathetic to the Gallery, and
the content met the Gallery's needs at the time. The site is split into
seven sections and includes general information, events listings and
information on the collection and building.
The copyright for the existing site lies with the Gallery and the site can
be used as a basis for development.
Design and Requirements
Part of the success of the existing website was its clarity, speed and ease
of navigation. We would like these to be top priorities on the new site.
The design for the new site must be sympathetic to existing Gallery
branding. The Gallery has a strong sense of tradition and needs to appeal to
a wide audience. The design must also reflect the design of the virtual
gallery which the website will host.
The site needs to meet good practice access requirements, and must meet W3C
WAI guidelines. It also needs to respond to the specific requirements of
each department: Education, Marketing, Commercial Operations and
Development.
The Education Department has developed activities and trails that could be
adapted for the Internet. The much-requested teachers' pack should also be
made available online with supplementary suggestions for online activities.
Education should be a prime feature of the new website.
The developer should work closely with the marketing department to see that
the Gallery's brand image is faithfully represented and that the site meets
the Gallery's online marketing requirements.
The Gallery's Commercial Manager will discuss the potential for online
shopping. It is felt that online transactions are not a priority at the
moment but that there should be a facility to add this at a later date.
Until further market research has been carried out through the new site,
items from the shop should be able to be bought via a printout mail order
form. Similarly printouts of images or high-resolution scans on CD taken
from the new image library will be able to be ordered by a printout image
request form.
Events must be listed on the site. As with the shop, room for an online
booking facility should be factored into the website design. Event listings
may also link into the virtual Gallery (e.g. a lecture on Gainsborough could
link to the Gainsborough paintings in the collection).
There must be a section on how to help the Gallery, which should include
information on the Friends, fundraising appeals, legacies etc. There should
be room for a facility for online giving to be added at a later date. There
should also be a section where users can download general administrative
information, e.g. the Gallery's aims and objectives, the latest audited
accounts, list of staff and Trustees etc.
Content Management
The website will need to be updated constantly with events listings,
exhibitions information, fundraising appeals etc. The development should
include an easy-to-use content management system and training for Gallery
staff.
Budget and Timetable
The budget for the development of the collections management system and
virtual gallery is £24,000 +VAT. This will include training for four members
of staff and the first year of maintenance.
The budget for the development of the website is £10,000 +VAT. This will
include training for six members of staff and the first year of maintenance.
It is envisaged that the timescale for the development of the projects will
be as follows:
Submissions of expressions of interest deadline 31 Jan 2003
Issue of Invitations to tender 24 Feb 2003
Familiarisation visits 3 - 7 March 2003
Closing date for submission of tenders 14 March 2003
Interviews/demonstrations 24 March 2003
Award of contracts 4 April 2003
Test-driving collections management system July 2003
Completion of collections management system
including loading of existing data August 2003
Website development begins August 2003
Test-driving website November 2003
Completion of website December 2003
Procedure
Clarification of information contained in this invitation may be sought from
Leo Crane (contact details below).
Expressions of interest should be submitted by email and in duplicate in
writing to Rosamund Sykes, Finance Director by 12 noon on Friday 31 January
2003. Envelopes should be sealed and clearly marked "digitisation project".
Emails should carry the subject header "digitisation project".
Expressions of interest should be no more than 6 pages excluding appendices.
They should include:
* company and contact details of the prospective supplier;
* company profile, key staff who would work on the project and their CVs,
and examples of previous work
* names and addresses of three clients from whom references may be taken
* an outline of the approach proposed to undertake the work including:
* software database and tools which would be used
* statement of ability to meet the timetable and response to the proposed
phasing
* information about the development process (e.g. whether proposed solution
would be based on an existing package, or if not, how the development
process would be managed
* a statement of key project risks and how these would be managed and
minimised
Note: more detail will be sought on these aspects at the next stage of the
tender process.
Your company's latest set of audited accounts (one copy only) should be
appended to your submission. Company brochures may also be submitted but
must not substitute for information specifically requested above.
Detailed cost information is not being sought at this stage as this will
form part of the next stage of the process. However, suppliers expressing
an interest in tendering will be deemed to have accepted the project budget
and to believe that the project can be delivered within the sums available.
If this is not the case attention should be drawn to this in your response.
Dulwich Picture Gallery does not undertake to issue receipts for Expressions
of Interest documents and accepts no responsibility in case of loss or
non-receipt. Expressions of Interest may, however, be submitted by
registered or recorded mail.
Dulwich Picture Gallery aims to identify a shortlist of suppliers who will
be invited to submit a more detailed tender in response to a full
Operational Requirement to be issued in February.
Dulwich Picture Gallery will judge expressions of interest by applying a
number of criteria to identify suppliers to proceed to the next stage.
These will include (but will not be restricted to):
* company profile and track record of previous projects.
* suppliers' ability to deliver within the proposed timetable;
* clarity of approach
Shortlisted suppliers proceeding to the full tender stage will then be
judged against the above criteria and
* ability to deliver within the specified budget
* approach best suited to meet the Gallery's needs
The Gallery is not bound to proceed with any Expressions of Interest nor in
due course to accept the lowest or any tender.
No costs of preparing submissions will be reimbursed by the Gallery.
Terms and Conditions
The tender documents to be issued in February will contain a proposed form
of contract. The following provisions will be included in the contract.
1. Any payment for Software will be made according to the contract, upon
presentation of invoices at agreed stages within the project. Payments will
not be made in advance of work being undertaken.
2. Copyright of all work undertaken for Dulwich Picture Gallery will pass
to the Gallery on payment of the commissioned work. Exceptions may be made
for the collections management system and website content management system
if agreed in advance in writing.
3. The contract price or price mechanism will be fixed at the outset. No
royalty or other payments will be made outside the original fee unless
agreed.
4. All Expressions of Interest submitted will be treated in strict
confidence by the Gallery. Suppliers must likewise treat any information
supplied by the Gallery as confidential unless it is already in the public
domain.
Contact
For further information about this project please contact:
Leo Crane
Senior Fundraiser
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Gallery Road
London SE21 7AD
Direct line: 020 8299 8715
Fax: 020 8299 8700
Email: [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Expressions of interest should be submitted to:
Rosamund Sykes
Finance Director
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Gallery Road
London SE21 7AD
Email: [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
|
