Lafortune Holdings, Inc. invites interested and qualified experts/firms to submit responses to build an information technology platform to enhance the capacity of 10 grassroots organizations in Haiti. This is a component of the Haiti Fund’s Organizational capacity reinforcement project to help organizations create the systems and structures necessary to sustain the long haul. Invitation to submit a response does not constitute a commitment of work.

Background
The Haiti Fund at The Boston Foundation is an expression of the Greater Boston community's concern and support for the people of Haiti. After the earthquake in January 2010, this Fund was created to provide relief and reconstruction support to communities in Haiti and the Greater Boston Haitian-American community. Governed by a 37-person Advisory Council, the vast majority of whom are Haitian or Haitian-American, the Haiti Fund firmly believes that Haitians should be at the center of reconstruction efforts. The Haiti Fund has recognized since its founding that in order to achieve long-term sustainability of any intervention in Haiti, it is of utmost importance to strive continuously to build the capacity of Haitian grassroots organizations. As such, during the final 18 months of the Haiti Fund’s tenure, the Advisory Council and staff members have undertaken a pilot program for organizational capacity building.

Project Goals and Objectives
The project seeks to leverage and unleash the power of technology to enable transparency and effectiveness in aid delivery while working alongside grassroots organizations to build their capacity to access aid, technology and managerial skills. We have chosen ten (10) impactful organizations in Haiti to help them manage their operations, build systems, and create a web presence necessary to effectively meet the needs of the communities they serve. Our goal is to remove barriers, using technology to build a platform to create a medium for grassroots organizations to showcase their work, access needed technology and training they need to take their efforts to the next level. The platform will enable these organizations and their leaders to bring about much needed change to local neighborhoods. It will also help funders gain deeper insight into what works in Haiti.

Timeframe:
Begin no sooner than June 1, 2014
Finish no later than December, 2014
Incremental milestones will be built in by Contractor and the Haiti Fund team

Contract:
Contractor will enter into an agreement with Lafortune Holdings, Inc. This will be a fixed price contract. There is no allowance for project expenses, travel or any other ancillary expenses that the contractor may incur, other than that noted below, unless otherwise agreed upon in writing in advance. Deliverables must be accepted by the Haiti Fund. The Haiti Fund will provide all relevant materials and will be available to the Contractor for discovery, to fill in knowledge gaps.

Required Outcomes:
• Possible participation in meeting with Haiti Fund team in Boston at the invitation of Haiti Fund Director. Haiti Fund will pay for travel, accommodations, and food while at meeting site for key personnel. Such meeting will take place at Haiti Fund offices in Boston, MA and payment of fees noted above will be in the sole discretion of the Haiti Fund.
• Contractor will provide a fully-integrated system that delivers publically- accessible websites or comprehensive directory listings to the ten grantee organizations. The system will have forms capabilities and be linked to an online database of information pertaining to the ten organizations and be used to maintain their reports on the progress they are making.
• Specific deliverables includes as follows:
• Organizational IT assessment to understand specific needs and goals in
order to align services
• Creation of a web-portal with template websites, databases
• Creation of or linking of simple web applications (Project Reporting,
Monitoring and Evaluation, Grant Management, e-commerce)
• Organization Websites
• Resources link for webinars, materials, and useful links
• Contractor will also provide training for the 10 organizations and current training materials for the use of the system
• Any other related tasks critical for the successful implementation of the project.

Budget
Under no circumstances will any change orders, overages, or any requests of any kind for payments exceeding that amount be considered. All responses must include a detail budget supported by a budget justification.

Qualifications:
The selected contractor must meet a majority of the following requirements:
• Specific knowledge of Haitian social and political context
• Manifest an overall commitment to Haiti and its development
• A professional IT practice with a demonstrated track record of success in business consulting on start-up projects
• Experience in developing, designing, managing, and maintaining websites
• Provide the years of experience your firm has had in this type of services and identify specific expertise of key members of your team
• Ability to provide a clear and detailed description of the work plan, deliverables, approach and timeline that you propose using to meet the objectives
• Must have the capacity to identify project leaders to be committed to this project and the continued availability for follow-on work both here and in Haiti
• Must have adequate time available to complete contract on time
• Must have culturally competent staff locally in Haiti and with English, Creole and French capabilities
• Information or links for three past or current websites/clients that will provide references for your work.

E-mail submissions are encouraged and will be acknowledged upon receipt.
Proposals may be submitted in English, French or Creole to lafortunelie@gmail.com