Call for Tenders 
ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey and Da se Zna! are launching a call for tenders for services related to creating a free and open-source software for documenting hate crime and discrimination incidents against LGBTI+ persons.

Object of the procurement procedure

SERVICES RELATED TO FREE AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR DOCUMENTING HATE CRIME AND DISCRIMINATION INCIDENTS AGAINST LGBTI+ PERSON

Project 

Tracking & Tackling Hate Speech & Crime against LGBTI People in the Western Balkans and Turkey 

Organisation and buying entity 

ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey  
Čarlija Čaplina 3/2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
www.lgbti-era.org
and
Da se zna!
Alekse Nenadovica 18, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
www.dasezna.lgbt 

Type of contract 

One-off contract 

Duration 

Until complete execution of the obligations of the parties 

Expected starting date 

1 February 2021

Tender Notice Issuance date 

10 November 2020 

Deadline for tendering 

22 January 2021

 
I TERMS OF REFERENCE  
FREE AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR DOCUMENTING HATE CRIME AND DISCRIMINATION INCIDENTS AGAINST LGBTI+ PERSONS

DELIVERABLES 

The subject of this procurement is complete hardware and software solutions for collecting and analyzing data regarding real-life cases of hate crime and discrimination incidents against LGBTI+ persons. The solution has to provide maximum possible security for data that is going to be stored on the server as well as a reasonable data integrity system. Software parts of the solution, except operating systems on computers and servers, have to be open source.
This solution has to provide the following functionalities:
Front-end software for opening new cases and updating and editing cases, data entry (initial 9 questionnaires preferably should be easily editable and updated);
Database to store all entered data;
Set up of hardware backup/data storage data system;
Server to run the database on that has software VPN for communication with workstations. Communication with the server has to be possible only through a VPN connection. The database should be able to store different format of data (scanned images, video and audio recordings, court transcripts, and other notes and case data);
Workstations for 9 countries in which the solution shall be implemented. Each workstation should have a front-end part of the software and the part of the software for retrieval, a grouping of the cases and analysis of collected data (cross-referencing and statistics – available both numerically and graphically ) with the possibility of data export in an encrypted file readable by Excel and VPN client for secure communication;
Workstations should be set up in such a way that no access to the Internet is possible except when connecting to a server using VPN m.
User guide for software components that include detailed installation steps and comprehensive usage description as well as 5 years of user support.
The software should be designed and intuitive user experience should be implemented.

 
B. FEES
Tenderers are invited to indicate their fees. These fees are final and not subject to review.
The Provider, shall also send a quote(Pro Forma invoice) and including:
        –  the Service Provider’s name and address;
        –  its VAT number;
        –  the full list of services;
        –  the fee per type of deliverables (in the local currency, tax exclusive);
        –  the total amount per type of deliverables (in the currency, tax exclusive);
        –  the total amount, tax exclusive, the applicable VAT rate, the amount of VAT and the amount VAT inclusive
Should the Provider be willing to further break down its financial offer, it is invited to do so on a separate sheet, attached to the other supporting documents.
        C. HOW WILL THIS ONE-OFF CONTRACT WORK?
 
Once this consultation and the subsequent selection are completed, you will be informed accordingly. Deliverables will then be carried out in compliance with the description of deliverables as provided in the Terms of Reference. The Provider will be responsible for providing any deliverable before the deadline(s) fixed in Contract.
         D. ASSESSMENT
Exclusion criteria
Tenderers shall be excluded from participating in the tender procedure if they:

have been sentenced by final judgment on one or more of the following charges: participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, money laundering;
are in a situation of bankruptcy, liquidation, termination of activity, insolvency or arrangement with creditors or any like situation arising from a procedure of the same kind, or are subject to a procedure of the same kind;
have received a judgment with res judicata force, finding an offence that affects their professional integrity or serious professional misconduct;
do not comply with their obligations as regards payment of social security contributions, taxes and dues, according to the statutory provisions of their country of incorporation, establishment or residence;
are or are likely to be in a situation of conflict of interests;
have been accused of practicing discriminatory or derogatory acts towards the LGBTI community; 
have been accused of human rights violations of any kind; 

Eligibility criteria

Tenderers shall demonstrate that they fulfil the following criteria (to be assessed on the basis of all supporting documents listed in Section E):
Being a registered company working on software development and maintenance similar to the service of this call for tenders;
Sufficient number of qualified staff and an infrastructure and operational set-up that enable the tenderer to:
dedicate a project manager (and a replacement should the project manager be unavailable) who will be responsible to the Senior management of the Service Provider, to act as a main interlocutor with ERA and Da se zna!     
ensure the availability of competent and responsible technical staff to respond quickly to queries/issues on the platform operation and its uninterrupted functioning and ensure easy and direct channels of communication for ERA and Da se zna!  to raise those issues
set up a back-up team with similar competence and expertise to take over work if there is an unexpected increase of work-load or if there is a change in staff.

Award criteria
• Quality of the offer (75%), including:

Quality of the proposed technical solutions (60%)
Qualification and experience of the staff dedicated to this project (15%)

• Financial offer (25%).
 E. DOCUMENTS TO BE PROVIDED
        ➢  Registration documents;
        ➢  Detailed description of the tenderer including the number and qualification of staff that
would be dedicated to this project as well as the tenderer’s infrastructure, annual turnover and organisational set-up (maximum 3 pages);
        ➢  A list of projects of comparable scope and nature carried out successfully over the last three years, together with the client references and their contact details (maximum 3 pages);
        ➢  The technical offer describing the proposed technical solutions in accordance with the requirements laid down in Section A of the Terms of Reference. The technical offer should never exceed 20 pages and should include a maximum 3-page executive summary;
        ➢  Full documentation concerning all subcontractors or other vendors involved in the
provision of the service;
        ➢  Anonymous CVs of the project staff to be designated for the execution of the contract (a
maximum of 2 pages per CV).
                     ➢ The Provider, shall also send a quote(Pro Forma invoice) and including:
        –  the Service Provider’s name and address;
        –  its VAT number;
        –  the full list of services;
        –  the fee per type of deliverables (in the local currency, tax exclusive);
        –  the total amount per type of deliverables (in the local currency, tax exclusive);
        –  the total amount, tax exclusive, the applicable VAT rate, the amount of VAT and the amount VAT inclusive.
All documents should be submitted via e-mail to the following email address: office@lgbti-era.org by 22 January 2021.
All documents shall be submitted in English, failure to do so will result in the exclusion of the tender. If any of the documents listed above are missing, ERA and Da se zna! reserve the right to reject the tender.
PART II – TENDER RULES 
FOR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES RELATED TO DEVELOPMENT OF THE FREE AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR DOCUMENTING HATE CRIME AND DISCRIMINATION INCIDENTS AGAINST LGBTI+ PERSONS 
ARTICLE 1 – IDENTIFICATION OF THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
1.1 Name and address
ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey  
Čarlija Čaplina 3/2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
www.lgbti-era.org
and
Da se zna!
Alekse Nenadovica 18, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
www.dasezna.lgbt 
 1.2 Background
This project addresses this by developing a secure digital platform to enable LGBTI communities to safely report incidents of hate crime/speech, building a region-wide evidence-base to equip civil society for future advocacy campaigns. The software, piloted by ERA member Da Se Zna, will be adapted across the region. We will:
●      Consult ERA members on in-country needs on hate crime/speech.
●      Standardise the platform to collect data and signpost to services.
●      Create online training to support ERA members onboard the system and information packs on hate crime/speech in each country.
●      Develop a protocol for sharing data securely across the nine partner countries for future advocacy.
●      Develop a monitoring, evaluation and learning strategy to ensure sustainability of the reporting platform as a model that can be replicated in other countries through future grants and corporate sponsorship.
Through this work, partners will develop a sustainable platform to strengthen movements challenging LGBTI hate crime/speech across the Western Balkans & Turkey. It will support the development of coordinated advocacy strategies on this issue at key regional events in Europe and internationally, including the Regional LGBTI Intergovernmental Platform for Western Balkans and Turkey, the European Union institutions, the Council of Europe, and the Equal Rights Coalition.
Further details on the project are provided in the Terms of Reference.
ARTICLE 2 – VALIDITY OF THE TENDERS
Tenders are valid for 120 calendar days as from the closing date for their submission.
ARTICLE 3 – DURATION OF THE CONTRACT
The contract is concluded until 31 March 2021 and takes effect as from the date of its signature by both parties. The Deliverables shall be executed in accordance with the time-frame indicated in the Terms of reference. 
ARTICLE 4 – CHANGE, ALTERATION AND MODIFICATION OF THE TENDER FILE
Any change in the format, or any alteration or modification of the original tender will cause the immediate rejection of the tender concerned.
ARTICLE 5 – CONTENT OF THE TENDER FILE
The tender file is composed of:
        –  Technical specifications/Terms of reference;
        –  Tender rules;
ARTICLE 6 – LEGAL FORM OF TENDERERS
ARTICLE 7 – SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
General information can be found on the website of ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey: https://lgbti-era.org
Other questions regarding this specific tendering procedure shall be sent at the latest 3 days before the deadline for submissions of tenders, in English, and shall be exclusively sent to the following address: office@lgbti-era.org
ARTICLE 8 – MODALITIES OF THE TENDERING     
Only electronic copies shall be sent only to office@lgbti-era.org. Tenders submitted to another e-mail account will be excluded from the procedure.
ARTICLE 9 – DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF TENDERS
The deadline for the submission of tenders is 31 December 2020 as evidenced by time and date of the sent email.
ARTICLE 10 – ASSESSMENT OF TENDERS
Tenders shall be assessed in accordance with the criteria as detailed in the Terms of Reference.
ARTICLE 11 – NEGOTIATIONS
ERA and Da se zna! reserve the right to hold negotiations with the bidders. 
ARTICLE 12 – RESPECTING PROJECT AIMS
The successful bidder shall respect the rights of LGBTI persons and shall respect the project aims of tackling hate crime and discrimination against sexual and gender minorities, and maintain confidentiality throughout the project lifetime.