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Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

ON

Provision of one-year of English Copywriting and Editorial

Services for HKSTP (Corporate & Thought Leadership)

Dec 2020 – Nov 2021

(Reference no. - RFP/2020/MU/209)

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Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation Request for Proposal (RFP) – Provision of one-year of English

Copywriting and Editorial Services for HKSTP (Corporate & Thought Leadership)

Ref No.: RFP/2020/MU/209 1. Introduction HKSTP is looking for a quality language vendor to assist the Corporation by providing to develop English corporate and thought leadership collaterals, including but not limited to speeches, articles, corporate messages, presentation decks and briefing books. In view of the Corporation’s diverse publicity needs, HKSTP intends to engage a language vendor as the Corporation’s accredited service provider. The language vendor is required to provide copywriting and editorial services (Corporate & Thought Leadership) in English. The project is to provide one-year of Services from Dec 2020 to Nov 2021. The term engagement may be renewed for another year subject to the satisfactory performance of the vendor and decision of HKSTP. 2. About HKSTP

Comprising Science Park, InnoCentre and Industrial Estates, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is a statutory body dedicated to building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem to connect stakeholders, nurture technology talents, facilitate collaboration, and catalyse innovations to deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region. Established in May 2001, HKSTP has been driving the development of Hong Kong into a regional hub for innovation and growth in several focused clusters including Electronics, Information & Communications Technology, Green Technology, Biomedical Technology, Materials and Precision Engineering. We enable science and technology companies to nurture ideas, innovate and grow, supported by our R&D facilities, infrastructure, and market-led laboratories and technical centres with professional support services. We also offer value added services and comprehensive incubation programmes for technology start-ups to accelerate their growth. Technology businesses benefit from our specialised services and infrastructure at Science Park for applied research and product development; enterprises can find creative design support at InnoCentre; while skill-intensive businesses are served by our three industrial estates at Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long. More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.

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3. Target Audience of HKSTP’s corporate collaterals

Primary audience Local and international media Legislators and government officials Industry / business partners Secondary audience Local and international start-ups Investors Academia General public

4. Scope of Services The vendor is required to provide the following services that align with HKSTP’s corporate messages and brand strategies:

English copywriting service for HKSTP’s corporate and thought leadership collaterals including but not limited to speech, feature article, corporate message, presentation deck and briefing book

English editorial service for HKSTP’s corporate and thought leadership collaterals The Contract Term shall be a period of one year commencing from December 2020 to November 2021 with an option to be further extended for one year, subject to satisfactory performance of the vendor and sole decision by HKSTP. 5. Compulsory Requirements: I. Required Number of the Copywriter and Editor

1 preferred writer and 1 backup (English)

If the performance of the preferred writer fails to meet the requirements stated in this tender, HKSTP reserves the rights to change the preferred and backup writers during the Contract Term

The appointed vendor shall inform HKSTP in any written format with legitimate reasons if the preferred and backup writers have to be changed during the Contract Term. HKSTP has full discretion to determine and approve/disapprove the change

II. Normal Service Turn-around Time (subject to HKSTP’s requirement for each job):

Within 2 working days for copywriting and editorial services III. Number of Revision after Job Submission:

HKSTP has the right to ask for at least 2 times of revision(s) after job submission

HKSTP has the right to ask for assignments redone if quality is below satisfaction IV. Emergency Contact:

After-office hours contact point for handling urgent service request is required

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HKSTP has the right to ask for urgent service subject to the Corporation’s actual needs.

V. File Format:

Completed job must be delivered in electronic format and the content must be editable

6. Proposal Requirements HKSTP uses a two-envelope system, i.e. Technical Proposal and Price Proposal. The overall assessment is 70% based on technical assessment and 30% based on price element. I. Technical Proposal (70%)

In the Technical Proposal submission, written proposal shall clearly provide (a) The package of services, business credentials and other references to demonstrate project management capabilities (b) The past job reference of last 3 years (c) The profiles of the preferred and backup writer and emergency contacts as prescribed in Section 5 Compulsory Requirements (d) Appendix I – Writing a speech in English

HKSTP will provide the context of the speech as shown in Appendix I. Please refer to Appendix I for details.

Vendors shall also provide the profiles of core linguists and copywriters to be involved in this project, stating their location, qualifications, specialisations, a short bio and previous clients. The written speech of Appendix I should be shown beneath the bio of individual linguists.

* If there is any change to the core members of the copywriting team involved in this project during the Contract Term, vendor has to inform HKSTP and HKSTP will take this into consideration in evaluating the quality of services.

Vendor who can provide urgent service will obtain extra marks. Please specify in the Technical Proposal the urgent service in details for HKSTP’s consideration.

II. Price Proposal (30%) Please fill in Appendix II. Tenderers are required to follow the format and provide all the required information as set out in Appendix II, without adding to, modifying, or deleting any part of this Appendix II unless expressly stated for tenderer to provide additional information. The tenderer who fails to follow the format of this Appendix II may be disqualified and will not be further assessed.

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7. Tendering Process and Assessment Criteria An assessment panel will evaluate all returned proposals. Technical Proposal will be assessed first. Price proposal will only be opened and assessed when the vendor’s Technical Proposal obtained a passing score of 60 or above out of 100 marks. The vendor with passed Technical Proposal and highest overall score is expected to be awarded for this RFP. The assessment details are shown as below: I. Technical Proposal (70%)

Item Percentage of total technical score

Writing sample (Appendix I) - Coherence - Conciseness - Language structure - Vocabulary - Quality of vetting and proofreading

70%

Qualifications of the team members (copywriter and the backup)

Profiles of team members(preferred and backup writer and emergency contacts)

Project management capabilities

Past job references of the last 3 years

30%

II. Price Proposal (30%) III. Score Calculation Methodology Technical Assessment Score

= Tenderer Score in Technical Assessment Criteria X 70%

Highest Overall Mark in the Technical Assessment Criteria

Price Assessment Score

= Total Price Proposal Value of the Lowest Offer X 30%

Total Price Proposal Value of the Offer being considered

Overall Tenderer Score = Technical Assessment Score (70%) + Price Assessment Score (30%)

Tenderer price will be calculated using the tenderer supplied price table. The Tenderer price is for assessment purpose and does not equal to the eventual contract price. The selected Tenderer usually would be the one with the highest overall tenderer score.

8. Submission Deadline

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Vendor shall submit the proposals via our HKSTP TENDER Website https://tender.hkstp.org on or before 23 Oct 2020, 10:00 am. Late submission will not be considered.

Vendor shall, from time to time before the submission deadline, visit our HKSTP TENDER website https://tender.hkstp.org to see if there is any addendum to this RFP.

By submitting the proposals to us, the vendor agreed the terms and conditions stated in the RFP. 9. Validity of RFP Vendor is requested to submit its offers in HK Dollars as per Appendix III. All proposals shall be valid for a period of 3 months from the submission deadline. 10. Formation of Contract Unless and until the original Purchase Order has been issued by the HKSTP in relation to this RFP, there is no contract between HKSTP and any agencies who submit the proposals. 11. Purchase Order Terms & Conditions

The HKSTP’s Purchase Order Terms and Conditions version dated 4 March 2016 which is available in our Corporation’s website https://www.hkstp.org/en/supplier-registration/ refers. 12. Payment Terms & Schedule HKSTP will arrange monthly payment within 30 days upon receipt of the original invoice after receipt of goods/services by HKSTP. 13. Acceptance / Rejection of Proposal HKSTP will evaluate the proposals in strict confidence. The Tenderer acknowledges that HKSTP may elect at its sole option to accept all or any item or items of the Tenderer’s offer and that HKSTP has sole discretion whether or not to accept any of the Tenderer’s quotations irrespective to its prices. 14. Acceptance / Rejection of Proposal The Tenderer shall make certain that the prices quoted are accurate before submitting its quotation. Under no circumstances will HKSTP accept any request for price adjustment on the ground that a mistake has been made in the RFP prices. 15. Assignment of contract or sub-contracting The Tenderer shall not assign or otherwise transfer this contract or any of its rights and obligations hereunder whether in whole or in part without written consent of HKSTP. 16. Confidentiality

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Tenderer is under an obligation to protect the interest of HKSTP by not divulging confidential information to any parties throughout the Contract Term. The Tenderer may be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before commencement of contract. 17. Termination

If the selected Tenderer fails to complete the services up to the satisfaction of HKSTP, HKSTP may terminate the contract by giving 30 days prior written notice to the selected Tenderer and the payment will be subject to the extent of the work in progress as determined by HKSTP. 18. Green Policy, Health & Safety For environmental protection, the selected Vendor should endeavor to minimise any negative impact on the environment. Wherever possible, recycled/recyclable and reused/reusable materials should be used. Energy consumption and waste should be minimised. During the course of its provision of the services, the selected Vendor should at all times undertake that it and its employees should comply with all statutory requirements in respect of health and safety and all instructions issued by HKSTP. 19. Non-Collusion The tenderer must ensure that the bid is prepared without any agreement, arrangement, communication, understanding, promise or undertaking with any other person (except as provided in paragraph 3 of the Non-collusive Tendering Certificate referred to Appendix III), including regarding price, bid submission procedure or any terms of the bid. In the event of any breach of this clause by any tenderer, HKSTP reserves the right to invalidate the bid submitted by that tenderer and seek damages. Bid-rigging is inherently anti-competitive and is considered serious anti-competitive conduct under the Competition Ordinance (Cap.619). Tenderers who engage in bid-rigging conduct may be liable for the imposition of pecuniary penalties and other sanctions under the Competition Ordinance. Upon tender submission, the tenderer shall submit to HKSTP a Non-collusive Tendering Certificate (in the form set out at Appendix III to this RFP) duly signed by an authorized person with company chop on the tenderer’s behalf in Technical Proposal. If the requested Non-collusive Tendering Certificate is not provided to HKSTP, the tender may be invalidated. 20. Declaration

HKSTP will evaluate proposals in strict confidentiality. HKSTP is not bound to accept any proposal it may receive. It shall be noted that the corporation would not be responsible for the reimbursement of any cost incurred by vendor for the preparation of the submission.

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21. Enquiries Any questions pertaining to the tender shall be made in writing on or before 15 Oct, 2020 via our HKSTP TENDER Website https://tender.hkstp.org.

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Appendix I – Writing a speech in ENGLISH With reference to the below press release and SCMP’s coverage on the incubation graduation ceremony 2020, please write a 3-minute speech in ENGLISH for HKSTP’s Chairman to deliver during the first-ever virtual event happening on 28 May 2020. The audience includes government officials, HKSTP management, graduated incubatees, other park companies and media.

1. Reference – Press Release

HKSTP Announces Record Number 108 Graduates from Its Year’s Incubation Programmes at Its First-Ever Virtual Incubation Graduation Ceremony Results reinforce Hong Kong as a world-class destination for global innovators, entrepreneurs and R&D talent Hong Kong, 28 May 2020 – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today hosted its first-ever Virtual Incubation Graduation Ceremony, celebrating the graduation of a record-breaking 108 start-ups completing their incubation programmes and Science and Technology Entrepreneur Programme (STEP). The graduation ceremony represents a historic milestone for the graduates as well as Hong Kong’s I&T sector, with 78 graduates from HKSTP’s incubation programmes, Incu-Tech, Incu-App and Incu-Bio, and 30 from the new pre-incubation STEP.

The 78 incubation graduates come from six markets around the world, including Hong Kong, China, India, Taiwan, UK and US, reflecting Hong Kong’s continued status as a major draw for global innovation. Collectively, this year’s graduates have applied or registered for 41 patents which is the highest in the past three years, while also receiving 56 international and local invention awards.

This year also marks a breakthrough moment for the Incu-Bio programme with a record high of six graduates. The growth in this sector reinforces the thriving biotech ecosystem being cultivated at Hong Kong Science Park and proves Hong Kong’s emergence as a regional hub for biomedical technology. Joining the current 140+ biotech partner companies at Science Park, this year’s Incu-Bio graduates will continue their R&D in this ecosystem, ultimately bringing to market ground-breaking innovations that enhances human wellbeing, enables more accurate diagnosis and cures.

Designed to identify and nurture future technopreneurs, the STEP programme established a year ago, has produced its first-ever batch of the graduates this year. The programme has been a huge success with several participants confirmed their admission to HKSTP’s incubation programme, which they will receive further support and assistance from HKSTP to continue their entrepreneurial journey.

Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said: “HKSTP has always been an ideal breeding ground for global innovators, entrepreneurs, as well as research and development talent. We feel unbridled pride to witness our graduated incubatees who have come far to achieve a remarkable milestone on their entrepreneurial journey.”

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“As a key enabler of the city’s I&T ecosystem, HKSTP will continue to nurture talent and leverage our expansive network to broaden their business perspectives globally. We strive to help our start-ups scale up and make their mark on the global stage with their innovations influencing people in Hong Kong and beyond.”

With this year’s graduates, over 700 start-ups and companies in total have now graduated from HKSTP’s Incubation Programmes. Such encouraging results give the impetus to HKSTP to continue its mission to strengthen the I&T development in Hong Kong, reinforcing the city as a world-class talent hub for technology and innovation.

2. Reference – SCMP’s news coverage - Link

3. Rundown of the Ceremony

2:00pm Opening video of graduates from Class 2019/20 (30sec) 2:01pm Kick-start of Graduation Ceremony by the Curator 2:02pm -2:04pm Welcome Speech by Dr Sunny Chai, BBS, Chairman, HKSTP 2:04pm -2:06pm Pre-recorded congratulation videos:

•Alfred Sit, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology •Rebecca Pun, JP, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology

2:06pm -2:08pm Cheering for graduates by Albert Wong, CEO, HKSTP 2:08pm -2:16pm Graduates sharing -the way forward

Introduction: •Kiki Wang, Director of Incubation & Acceleration Programmes, HKSTP •John Kao, Head of the Biomedical Technology Cluster, HKSTP Incubation graduates •Casper Chien, Doki Technologies Ltd. (acquired by Fitbit) •Langston Suen, Opharmic Technology (HK) Ltd. STEP graduate •Ali Shamaz, Phoennovation Ltd.

2:16pm -2:18pm Virtual group photo, Toasting, Graduates cap toss moment by all guests 2:18pm –2:19pm Wrap up by Curator

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Appendix II – RFP on Provision of one-year of English copywriting and editorial services for HKSTP (Corporate and Thought Leadership)

Reference no.: RFP/2020/MU/209 Scope of Service

Part I – 1st year of English copywriting and editorial services

Item Details Provisional Quantity (a)

Unit Unit Price (b)

Total Cost for 1st year (in HK$) (c) = (a) X (b)

1

Copywriting and Editorial services (approximately 15 hours per month)

180 Hours

Grand Total :

Part II – 2nd year of English copywriting and editorial services

Item Details Provisional Quantity (a)

Unit Unit Price (b)

Total Cost for 2nd year (in HK$) (c) = (a) X (b)

1

Copywriting and Editorial services (approximately 15 hours per month)

180 Hours

Grand Total :

Total Purchase Price for Price Assessment (Including Part I & II)

(HKD): ___________________ By filling in the above information, the vendor agrees that the rate will be valid for two years throughout the Contract Term. The quantities stated in Part I & II are provisional only. HKSTP has no obligation to order the exact quantities stated in both parts. The actual hours required will be confirmed by HKSTP in written Purchase Order(s) throughout the Contract Term. Authorised Signature with Company Chop: ____________________________________ Name and Title: _____________________________________________ (in block letters) Date: ________________________

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Appendix III – Non-Collusive Tendering Certificate To : Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (“HKSTP”) Dear Sir / Madam,

Non-Collusive Tendering Certificate for RFP Ref. No.: RFP/2020/MU/209 (the “Contract”) 1. We, _____________________________________of _____________________________

(name(s) of the tenderer(s)) (address(es) of the tenderer(s)) ________________________________________________________________________ refer to the tender for the Contract (the “Tender”) and our bid in relation to the Tender.

Non-collusion 2. We represent and warrant that in relation to the Tender:

(a) Our bid was developed genuinely, independently and made with the intention to accept the Contract if awarded;

(b) Our bid was not prepared with any agreement, arrangement, communication, understanding, promise or undertaking with any person (including any other tenderer or competitor) regarding:

i) prices; ii) methods, factors or formulas used to calculate prices; iii) an intention or decision to submit, or not submit, a bid; iv) an intention or decision to withdraw a bid; v) the submission of a bid that does not conform with the requirements of the

tender; vi) the quality, quantity, specifications or delivery particulars of the products or

services to which this tender relates; and vii) the terms of the bid,

and we undertake that we will not, prior to the award of the Contract, enter into or

engage in any of the foregoing. 3. Paragraph 2(b) of this certificate shall not apply to agreements, arrangements,

communications, understandings, promises or undertakings with:

(a) HKSTP; (b) a joint venture partner, where joint venture arrangements relevant to the bid exist and

which are notified to HKSTP; (c) consultants or sub-contractors, provided that the communications are held in strict

confidence and limited to the information required to facilitate that particular consultancy arrangement or sub-contract;

(d) professional advisers, provided that the communications are held in strict confidence and limited to the information required for the adviser to render their professional advice in relation to the Tender;

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(e) insurers or brokers for the purpose of obtaining an insurance quote, provided that the communications are held in strict confidence and limited to the information required to facilitate that particular insurance arrangement; and

(f) banks for the purpose of obtaining financing for the Contract, provided that the communications are held in strict confidence and limited to the information required to facilitate that financing.

Disclosure of subcontracting 4. We understand that we are required to disclose all intended sub-contracting

arrangements relating to the Tender to HKSTP, including those which are entered into after the Contract is awarded. We warrant that we have duly disclosed and will continue to disclose such arrangements to HKSTP.

Consequences of breach or non-compliance 5. We understand that in the event of any breach or non-compliance with any warranties or

undertakings in this certificate, HKSTP may, at its discretion, invalidate our bid, exclude us in future tenders, pursue damages or other forms of redress from us (including but not limited to damages for delay, costs and expenses of re-tendering and other costs incurred), and/or (in the event that we are awarded the Contract) terminate the Contract.

6. Under the Competition Ordinance, bid-rigging is serious anti-competitive conduct. We

understand that HKSTP may, at its discretion, report all suspected instances of bid-rigging to the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) and provide the Commission with any relevant information, including but not limited to information on our bid and our personal information.

For and on behalf of: ___________________________________________________________ (Company Name) Signature with Company Chop: ___________________________________________________ (Authorized Chop) Name & Position: ______________________________________________________________ Date:____________________________________________________________ Additional signature blocks will need to be used where the tenderer is comprised of multiple parties.