The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE Party) is a European political party that brings together parties with common liberal, democrat and reform ideas from more than 40 European countries. The Brussels-based ALDE Party Secretariat supports the activities of the Party; organises its meetings; manages its external communication; and facilitates European policy development and networking amongst liberal parties.

CALL FOR TENDER FOR DATABASE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANCY SERVICES

 Purpose of the contract

The ALDE Party is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to support the development and enhancement of our data infrastructure. Considering the forthcoming 2024 European Elections and our strategic outlook for the next five years, we are aiming to strengthen our capabilities in data management, visualization, and analysis to drive informed decision-making. Through this call for tender, we invite tenderers to collaborate with us in achieving our objectives and beyond.

Maximum estimated value of the contract (5 year service contract): 260.000€ excluding VAT.

Price revision

The monthly fee stipulated in the offer submitted to this tender is subject to potential review and adjustment to account for inflationary factors. Such adjustments, if necessary, will be determined based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or any other relevant inflation metrics, as outlined by the appropriate authority or index from the country in which the tenderer is based in. The exact conditions for the price review will be stipulated in the contract. 

Services required

The selected tenderer will be responsible for the following tasks. A description of the domains is given hereafter. It should be noted that the descriptions are indicative, and the definitions are non-exhaustive: 

• Development of ALDE Party’s data infrastructure further, with the aim of using it as a tool for the next European Elections, in 2029.
• Creation of new data visualisations, reports, and dashboards for use of the ALDE Party Secretariat to access critical information for day-to-day operations.
• Building of data pipelines to consolidate data used by different units of the ALDE Party Secretariat and external data sources, with the aim of making them more easily accessible.
• Assistance to the ALDE Party Secretariat with ingestion of new data into the databases.
• Trainings to the ALDE Party staff on the use of the database resources and reporting tools.
• Provision of technical advice and skills to further develop ALDE’s data infrastructure.
• Maintenance of the existing databases up to date and provision of additional improvements and developments, if needed.

Technical specifications

• Database Development: the vendor must demonstrate proven experience and a track record in database development, preferably with PostgreSQL databases. This includes designing, implementing, and optimizing databases to meet organizational needs.
• Data Analysis Skills: proficiency in data analysis using either R or Python is required. The vendor should be able to manipulate, analyze, and derive insights from large datasets efficiently.
• Data Dashboard Development: experience in building data dashboards using Tableau, Microsoft PowerBI, R Shiny, Dash, or Flask is essential. The vendor should be capable of creating visually appealing and interactive dashboards to present key metrics and insights.
• Website Development: Proficiency in website development using HTML and CSS is necessary. The vendor should be able to develop and maintain web-based interfaces for data visualization and reporting purposes.
• Data Pipeline Development: experience in building data pipelines, accessing APIs, and performing web scraping is required. The vendor should be able to automate data extraction, transformation, and loading processes efficiently.
• Cloud Computing Experience: any experience working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) is desirable. The vendor should be familiar with AWS services relevant to data management and analytics.
• Understanding of European Politics: a deep understanding of European politics and party politics is desirable. The vendor should be able to contextualize data analysis and reporting within the European political landscape.  
• Attention to Detail and Analytical Focus: the vendor must possess an eye for detail and demonstrate a necessary focus on in-depth analytical work. Accuracy and precision in data handling and analysis are crucial for producing reliable insights.

Exclusion and selection criteria

1. Exclusion criteria

Participation in this tender procedure is only open to tenderers (all entities involved, including subcontractors and consortium members) that are not in a situation of exclusion as specified in Annex II, which includes:

• bankruptcy and insolvency situations.
• non-payment of taxes or social security contributions.
• grave professional misconduct.
• fraud, corruption, participation in a criminal organisation etc. - serious breach of contract.

2. Selection criteria

• More than 2 years of work experience as a data analyst, data scientist or data engineer.
• Proven work experience in European politics.  
• Consultants located outside the European Union will be taken into consideration, but preference will be given to contractors based within the European Union. The consultant must have flexibility to travel to the ALDE Party headquarters, if required.
• Consultants must be able to issue invoices and receive payments in (EUR) currency.
• Excellent knowledge of English (written and spoken).

Award criteria

The contract will be awarded on the basis of the best value for money award criteria, taking into account both quantitative and qualitative criteria.  

How to apply

Please apply by sending a detailed proposal in English, addressing the below elements:

• Consultants’ profile, relevant experience in providing similar services and reference to the technical requirements and selection criteria mentioned in the tender.
• Portfolio with examples of previous work (developed dashboards, databases, platforms, webapps, etc.) and proof of experience working with political parties and in the European politics context.
• Pricing structure according to Appendix I, including any additional fees or charges.
• Appendix II

Tenders must be submitted together with Appendix I and II, filled in and signed, by 6 June 2024 to Raphael Velez, Projects and Campaigns analyst at the ALDE party (rvelez@aldeparty.eu). The deadline for the selection of the tenderer is set by 25 June 2024.