See below the questions and clarification answers related to the request for proposal for a Digital Platform on public procurement in Moldova, under the “Increasing Integrity in Public Procurement” project. The overall goal of the “Increasing Integrity in Public Procurement” project is to increase public procurement transparency through citizen monitoring and reporting in Moldova to hold stakeholders involved in public procurement processes accountable, inducing them to operate with integrity to perform their duties more effectively.
The objective of the Digital Platform is to be a single source of information and a tool to enable information sharing by the grantees and other potential monitors and provide essential resources for effective procurement monitoring and information on procurement processes, including by providing relevant functionalities and online tools.
Clarifications
Q: According to the received “Request of Proposals” document, we have identified the following phrase "..using open-source software" and we would like to know your opinion regarding the development of a digital platform using some of the licensed software which, in our professional opinion, will facilitate the development process with two key criteria, the development time frame and the advantageous price.
A: For reasons related to the need to ensure the sustainability of the project, including financial sustainability, we concluded that it would be preferable to use open development tools. However, if you consider that you can argue in your offer why it would be advisable/advantageous to use licensed tools, please do so and we assure you that we will examine your offer with interest and attention, weighing the arguments made.
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Q: Infrastructure and Hosting - any specific requirements that should be considered? Can the proposed solution be a cloud-based platform (e.g. AWS), or does it need to be deployed and hosted on premise?
A: This should be part of the concept developped at the beginning.
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Q: Security and Identity Management - please share non-functional requirements on authentication, authorization, or any other aspects.
A: This should be part of the concept developped by the bidders.
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Q: Digital Channels in scope - based on the requirements we understand the platform is Web only, without any requirement for mobile application development. Please confirm.
A: It should work on cell phones (optimized accordingly: so that you can look at the website on your phone and it looks OK). We do not need a separate App for it.
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Q: Contracting – could you please confirm who will be the contracting authority?
A: Information is included in the Request for Proposals: Establishment of a Digital Platform within the Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement project
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Q: Delivery – will the Contracting Authority accept deliverables and approve payments, please? If “no” who will accept the services and invoices, please?
A: Information is included in the Request for Proposals: Establishment of a Digital Platform within the Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement project
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Q: Are the associated costs for this program already budgeted and approved by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, please?
A: The Digital Platform is neither developed nor funded by the Government of the Republic of Moldova. The platform will be developed from the budget of the project implemented by IDIS and PTF that was planned and allocated in this regard.
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The project "Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement" is implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund (USA). The project aims to support public procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase transparency and fairness in public procurement by empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable.
IDIS "Viitorul" is an independent think tank established in 1993 that combines social, political and economic research with strong advocacy components. The institution conducts applied monitoring research on several areas: economics, social policy, EU policies, regional development, but also security and foreign policy risks.
The Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) is based in Washington DC and its mission is to promote innovative civil society-led approaches to improve governance, increase transparency, promote the rule of law and reduce corruption in developing and emerging countries. Since 2000, PTF has supported over 250 projects aimed at promoting NGO involvement in decisions, processes and laws that enforce transparency and accountability in public procurement.
