Site Development & Maintenance for Project with Local City Leaders | Bonestroo

Bonestroo is currently involved in a project in collaboration with the Urban Land Institute to develop a Sustainability Resource Center website. This resource would be used and enhanced by mayors and other local leaders throughout the metropolitan area to share information about implementing sustainable practices in their communities. Ideally, the website would serve as both a clearinghouse for information, as well as a way for leaders to share new tools, resources, ideas and contact information. We currently have a wiki started, but that format is becoming too unorganized and the group has decided they want to proceed with a more formally organized website.

We would need an individual to help us with two things. First, assisting us in estimating the time and cost of developing this tool based on our specific needs. This may require one to two meetings at the Bonestroo office in Roseville, MN. We would use this information to apply for grant funding to begin the project (we have already identified a number of potential sources). Second, once funding is secured, we would need the individual to do the initial set up of the site and assist us with ongoing maintenance. The contract for this work would begin after this grant funding is secured.

Some key features we are looking for in the website:

· The ability for more than one key person to manage the site, i.e. edit pages, add new pages, manage requests and submissions gathered through the website. I have used the Droopal framework before on another project, and found that system especially easy to work with. We may have people editing the site who are unfamiliar with html coding language.

· A method to collect resources/ideas from mayors and other contributors to the site. They should be able to upload documents and describe the resource they are requesting to have included on the site. “Gatekeepers” (see first item) would then review submission and make additions as necessary.

Some longer-term items we may be interested in implementing in the future:

· “Contacts” page, in which mayors and others can fill in their contact information with links to resources they have submitted. This way others are able to easily communicate with those who have expertise in a certain area.

· Virtual tours. Similar to photo slideshows on Flickr, New York Times or other websites. Specific projects would have photo (or video) slideshows that allow site visitors to “tour” a project with text or sound information accompanying the images.

If this work is something you would be interested in, please contact me via email at brendon.slotterback@bonestroo.com. Please supply a resume and examples of other sites you have developed using the drupal system. We are looking for reliable, self-directed individuals. Any background in city planning or sustainable development is a bonus. We have a meeting with the committee working on this project on July 11th, so we’d like to make contact with a web developer ASAP.