Public Call for Tender nb. 83458162 Develop Artisans Platform 16.2088.9-001.00 EPL

1. Context

The EPL project 

Lebanon has been facing a severe financial and economic crisis since late 2019. Around 78 % of people live below the poverty line (UN, 2021). These challenges were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the explosion in the Beirut port in 2020. Another crisis emerged as a result of the war in Ukraine, which has caused additional supply chain disruptions.

Young people are particularly affected by unemployment. At the same time, they are Lebanon’s future. While many have lost their job as a result of the crises, those coming into the labour market struggle with limited vacancies. In addition, young people often lack the skills required by those employers that are still hiring.

Seeking to improve the employment situation of young Lebanese adults (aged 17 to 35), women, and people with disabilities in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) commissioned the Project “Employment Promotion in Lebanon (EPL)”.

The “Employment Promotion Lebanon” (EPL) project started operating in February 2022. The current duration of the project is until September 2024. It is currently being implemented in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

Specifically, EPL seeks to: 

• Provide employment-related services to at least 2500 Lebanese, 90% of which are youth, 35% of which are women and 5 % of which are people with disabilities. 
• Increase employability of at least 1875 young adults, women, and persons with disabilities 
• Support the employment or income generation of at least 625 youth. 
• Provide business development services to at least 250 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in selected sectors. 
• Increase the competitiveness of at least 125 MSMEs. 
• Improve the employment conditions of 1200 Lebanese, 90% of which are youth, 35% of which are women and 5 % of which are people with disabilities. 

To achieve these goals, EPL has adopted a decentralized implementation approach engaging in partnerships with several local organizations (NGOs, social enterprises, business associations, etc.) that have received grant agreements to implement activities targeted at end-beneficiaries (individuals and firms). These activities are complemented by activities implemented by specialized service providers through service contracts. EPL will be supporting The Ready Hand, a platform that celebrates artisans and artisanship throughout Lebanon, from the cities to the most remote regions of the country, they cover all artisans. The Ready Hand documents the skills, processes, and creative know-hows, along with the heritage and the values that individual creators represent and carry with them.

The Ready Hand creates bridges for artisans, raises awareness, and triggers and strengthens connections to the world of design and craftsmanship. The Ready Hand inspires new initiatives and possibilities, so that artisans can continue to practice their craft within their communities, providing livelihoods, reflecting creativity, and inspiring upcoming generations. 

Objectives of the assignment:

• Preserve Artisanship of artisans and link them with clients by documenting the skills, processes, and create know-how through an online database and platform.  
• Create The Ready Hand online database & platform. 
• Produce database and promotional content to create awareness and generate traffic on the site. 
• Embark on 75+ visits to artisans documenting their crafts. 

2. Tasks to be performed by the consultant

The platform aims at regrouping the largest numbers of artisans (with a minimum of 75 for the initial version) and showcasing their identity, skills, and offerings. It aims at providing the geolocation, contact info, and a small description about each artisan.

The consultant is responsible for providing the following services:

• Designing & developing The Ready Hand online database & platform, including hosting, maintenance, and technical support services. Providing efficient and secure hosting and maintenance for the platform and database; providing technical support services (after sales) for continuous bug fixing, feature additions and modifications, and any other technical requirements for the database & platform.
• Creating professional text and visual content.
• The Contractor will collect the needed resources from The Ready Hand such as contact of artisans, definition of the project's scope, objectives, concept for visits. This includes outlining the features, functionalities, and overall goals of the platform for artisans. a list of information and content to be gathered from each visit incl. database information, content deliverables, legal forms (consent…) list of tags to allow to filter and look-up the artisans according to their craft.
• The contractor manages costs and expenditures, accounting processes and invoicing in line with the requirements of GIZ.

The work packages, as laid out below, are to be achieved during the contract term:

Work Package 1: Platform development, hosting and maintenance and feeding.  

Tasks for Work Package 1: 

• Define all the technical and design requirements for The Ready Hand platform (Database, website, application, admin dashboard, and additional functionality when relevant). 
• Develop the platform (web and mobile app) as per the approved design and requirements, including features of geo-localization, data search, back-end updates, filtering and tagging, picture upload, etc...The platform should be capable of generating statistical reports, exporting of reported data, granting 2-level of user privileges (admin& standard), and providing encryption and secure Data Base Maintain the server(s) on which the platform will be hosted, detect downtime and ensure urgent intervention in case of system failure. 
• Update software and tools running on the server on a quarterly basis and fix critical security patches in a timely manner. 
• Maintain the code for the platform, updating the technical aspect of the platform to ensure smooth operations and active features on a bi-annual basis and whenever there are critical security patches. 
• Modify or uplift non-major platform functionality, with a relaxed cap of 6 hours per month upon The Ready Hand’s request. 
• Support and ensure the platform's sustainability by providing 2 years of post-roll-out support including bug fixing, versioning, hosting, and related services… 

Certain milestones, as laid out in the table in the TOR, are to be achieved during the contract term.

Work Package 2: Profiling and development of the Artisans’ Profiles

Tasks for Work Package 2:

• Take pictures and videos, including (when possible, while respecting the artisans’ reservations and as an opt-in only, a picture of the frontage, a picture and/or a small 10s video of the process, a picture of the team, and pictures of their offerings). The photographer and videographer are also encouraged to add to the above any content they believe would help describe the artisans’ work and story.
• Select and edit pictures to be posted on the platform.
• Select and edit videos to be posted on the platform.
• Produce 2 movies of a 3-minutes duration each for promotional and awareness purposes.
• Produce 150 small videos lasting 10 seconds each and 150 pictures to be used for the database and on Instagram as promotional material to drive traffic to the platform (showcasing artisan’s work, no voice-over or translation needed).
• Produce 10 high-resolution editorial pictures in large format for promotional purpose.
• Organize site visits and conduct interviews with 75 Artisans located in all Lebanese regions nominated by The Ready Hand.
• Document and organize data of the Artisans collected during the site visits.
• Develop the profiles of 75 artisans, including a description of their craft.
• Add relevant tags according to TRH guidelines.
• Provide an exhaustive description of the people behind the craft, their inspiration, their heritage that truthfully represent the unicity of each artisan.

Certain milestones, as laid out in the TOR, are to be achieved during the contract term.

Project Management

The contractor shall be responsible for the management tasks associated to this assignment.

• Act as a one-stop-shop for the content creation, platform development (web and mobile), platform hosting, platform support (for 2 years after roll-out). Handle a team of content creators (in-house or outsourced) that manage the aspects of documenting through photography, videography, and copywriting.
• Scout, select, enrol, and manage additional skillsets needed to deliver on the above (tech, content creation, photography, copywriting, videography…)
• Select and steer the national short-term experts assigned to perform the tasks.
• Perform the internal operational and administrative tasks required for the assignment.
• Manage timelines, dependencies, and team members for the design and development of The Ready Hand online platform, along with updating and maintaining relationships with all stakeholders, for 10-12 months: the duration for the platform development & post-delivery.
• Raise red flags as needed and engage in efficient problem solving across stakeholders to ensure an on-time & on-budget delivery.
• Provide feedback and assist with direction on technical matters related to The Ready Hand online platform and other potential technical facets.

3. Concept

In the tender, the tenderer is required to show how the objectives defined (Tasks to be performed) are to be achieved, if applicable under consideration of further method-related requirements (technical-methodological concept). In addition, the tenderer must describe the project management system for service provision.

Technical-methodological concept

Strategy (1.1): The tenderer is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender. Following this, the tenderer presents and justifies the explicit strategy with which it intends to provide the services for which it is responsible.

The tenderer is required to present the actors relevant for the services for which it is responsible and describe the cooperation (1.2) with them.

The tenderer is required to present and explain its approach to steering the measures with the project partners (1.3.1) and its contribution to the results-based monitoring system (1.3.2).

The tenderer is required to describe the key processes for the services for which it is responsible and create an operational plan or schedule (1.4.1) that describes how the services according to Chapter ‎2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor) are to be provided. In particular, the tenderer is required to describe the necessary work steps and, if applicable, take account of the milestones and contributions of other actors (partner contributions) in accordance with Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed) (1.4.2).

4. Information Security

The international standards of information security ISO27001 must be applied and implemented as part of the development of the platform. This means during development, the basics such as correct web server configuration, cross-side scripting (XXS) and SQL injection prevention, a password policy and 2-factor authentication, as well as encryption for e-mails should be applied as a minimum.

5. Data Protection

The performance of the contract will be associated with the processing of personal data by the contractor.

GIZ hires the contractor to process the personal data and develop and upgrade the platform on behalf of The Ready Hand. The Ready Hand determines the purposes and means of the data processing. This means that GIZ does not bear ANY responsibility for such processing.

When developing, upgrading, and maintaining the platform, the contractor must abide by the requirements set out, as applicable to the platform. Although GIZ has the contractor to build the platform in conformity with the highest data protection standards according to the GDPR, The Ready Hand is the controller of the platform and the data processing activities conducted in its context. Therefore, the contractor must also abide with local law (e.g., Lebanese law), where applicable. Also, the conclusion of a data processing agreement between the contractor and The Ready Hand is recommended.

6. Company minimum requirement

The bidder must at least have the following requirement:

• At least EUR 10,000 average annual turnover for the last three financial years (Letter signed and stamped from the bidder declares that the requirement is met).
• At least 5 persons as average number of employees and managers for the past three calendar years (Letter signed and stamped from the bidder declares that the requirement is met).
• Reference projects with a minimum commission value of EUR 25,000.
• At least 2 reference projects in the technical field "Software Development and people profiling” with 1 reference project in Lebanon.
• Technical experience in Software Development and external personnel profiling
• Regional experience in Lebanon.

7. Personnel concept

The tenderer is required to provide personnel who are suited to filling the positions described, based on their CVs (see Chapter ‎6), the range of tasks involved and the required qualifications.

The below specified qualifications represent the requirements to reach the maximum number of points in the technical assessment.

Expert 1: Team leader & Product Manager

Tasks of the team leader

• Overall responsibility for the service contract packages of the contractor.
• Ensures the coherence and complementarity of the contractor’s services with other services delivered by the project at local and national level.
• Work cross-functionally to enhance the overall user experience of the platforms.
• Plans and manages the assignments and supports experts.
• Ensures that deliverables are carried out according to the deadlines.
• Ensures all program activities and team behaviors comply with GIZ policies.
• Define the project’s technical requirements.
• Revise, edit, proofread & optimize web content.
• Assist the team leader in planning and managing the assignments and supports experts. 
• Assist the team leader in ensuring that deliverables are carried out according to the deadlines alongside technical team leader.
• Ensures all program activities and team behaviors comply with GIZ policies. 

Qualifications of the team leader

• Education/training (2.1.1.): bachelor’s degree in computer science, Computer Engineering
• General professional experience (2.1.3): At least 5 years of occupational experience in full stack web development.
• Specific professional experience (2.1.4): At least 4 years of occupational experience in platform development
• Leadership/management experience (2.1.5): 2 years of leadership/management experience as technical team leader managing multi-disciplinary team and complex projects.
• Regional experience (2.1.6): 2 years of experience in projects in the Middle East (region), of which 1 year in projects in Lebanon
• Language (2.1.2): Very good language skills in English (C1) and Arabic (C1)
• Development Cooperation (2.1.7): 2 years of experience in relevant assignments.

8. Costing requirements (attached in the TOR)

9. Requirements on the format of the tender

The structure of the tender must correspond to the structure of the ToRs. In particular, the detailed structure of the concept should be organised in accordance with the positively weighted criteria in the assessment grid (not with zero). The tender must be legible (font size 11 or larger) and clearly formulated. It must be drawn up in English (language).

The complete tender must not exceed 10 pages (excluding CVs). If one of the maximum page lengths is exceeded, the content appearing after the cut-off point will not be included in the assessment. External content (e.g., links to websites) will also not be considered.

The CVs of the personnel proposed in accordance with Chapter ‎4 of the ToRs shall not exceed 4 pages each. They must clearly show the position and job the proposed person held in the reference project and for how long. The CVs can also be submitted in English (language).

Please calculate your financial tender based exactly on the parameters specified in the costing requirements. The contractor is not contractually entitled to use up the days, trips, workshops, or budgets in full. The number of days, trips and workshops and the budgets will be contractually agreed as maximum limits. The specifications for pricing are defined in the price schedule.