Purchaser: Ministry of Education and Research (MoER)

Project: Moldova Higher Education Project

Contract title: Design, Supply and Installation of e-Admission Information System

Country: Republic of Moldova

Credit No.: 6542-MD

RFB No: MD-MOED-263410-GO-RFB

Issued on: November 9, 2022

1. The Ministry of Education and Research has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Moldova Higher Education Project, and intends to apply part of the proceeds toward payments under the contract for Design, Supply and Installation of e-Admission Information System. 

2. The Ministry of Education and Research now invites sealed Bids from eligible Bidders for Design, Supply and Installation of e-Admission Information System (IS). The e-Admission IS will act as a national system which will facilitate the admission process for all actors involved in admission to first and second cycle of university studies to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).  

The use of a single electronic interface for the submission of the applications by the applicant (candidate) will standardize and simplify the admission process, and the conduct of the admission competition through a unified system will reduce the administrative burden and costs of HEIs. Also, MoER will have a customized solution, which will consider the level of technical maturity of HEIs and streamline their efforts in the admission process. 

The e-Admission IS will manage the registration of applicants and the entire flow of the competition for admission, including electronic files for participation in the competition. The system will significantly increase the efficiency and speed of document processing and reduce the storage of paper files, time used ineffectively by the applicants and the members of the specialized Committees. The system will become part of the educational ecosystem of the MoER and will be interconnected with other sectoral systems and government platforms.

3. Bidding will be conducted through international competitive procurement using Request for Bids (RFB) as specified in the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers”, issued on July 1, 2016, revised on November 1, 2016 and August 1, 2018 (“Procurement Regulations”), and is open to all eligible Bidders as defined in the Procurement Regulations  that meet the following minimum qualification criteria: 

(a) The bidder shall furnish documentary evidence that it meets the following financial requirements:

• The average annual turnover of the Bidder should be not less than USD 700,000.00 (seven hundred thousand), or equivalent, for the most recent three (3) years (2019, 2020, 2021) and this turnover must have been derived solely through the provision of Information Technology (IT) Systems and services.  Where the Bidder is a Joint Venture the sum of all Partners average turnover amounts may be used.  Also, where the Bidder is a Joint Venture, the Partner in charge must have had an average annual turnover equivalent to at least fifty percent (50%) of the amount required, whereas the other partners shall have not less than fifteen percent (15%) of the total requirement.  

The Bidder should provide audited financial statements and balance sheets for the last three complete financial years demonstrating the soundness of the Bidder’s financial position and demonstrating that it has the financial resources necessary to handle the requirements of the proposed Contract.    

• The Bidder must demonstrate access to, or availability of, financial resources such as liquid assets, unencumbered real assets, lines of credit, and other financial means, other than any contractual advance payments to meet the following cash-flow requirement: USD 50,000.00 for the subject contract net of the Bidders’ other commitments.

(b) Experience and technical capacity:

The bidder shall furnish documentary evidence (including information about the completed contracts and contact information of clients from whom the references could be taken or whom the Purchaser may, when necessary, visit to familiarize themselves with the systems put into operation by the Bidder) to demonstrate that it meets the following experience requirements:

• It should have been in operation for at least 5 years with an important part of its business being the provision of Information Technology (IT) Systems, including software and services.
• The bidder must have demonstrated experience as a prime supplier, management contractor, JV member¹  in conducting at least one (1) contract within the last three (3) years, each with a value of at least USD 500,000,00 that have been successfully and substantially completed and that are similar complexity² to the proposed Information System.

The successfully completed similar contracts shall be documented by a copy of an Operational acceptance certificate (or equivalent documentation satisfactory to the Purchaser) issued by the purchaser(s).

(c)Staff qualification:

The Bidder must demonstrate that it will have suitably qualified key personnel. 

The bidder core technical team must include the following staff qualifications:

Project Team Leader: 

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 5 years proven tracked experience in team/project management in implementing IS, with at least 2 projects implemented in the last 3 years.
• Experience in system analysis.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian and English.

Business Analyst: 

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 5 years of business analysis experience in IT/software development projects of similar complexity.
• Deep understanding of business process management (BPM).
• Experience in requirements gathering, data analysis and documentation.
• Understanding of enterprise lifecycle and legal background.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian and English.

System Analyst: 

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 5 years’ experience as a systems analyst or in a similar position in IT/software development projects of similar kind and size.
• Ability to assess business needs and translate them into relevant software solutions.
• Strong understanding and knowledge of the principles and practices associated with installing, configuring, documenting, testing, training, and implementing new applications and systems.
• Good knowledge of programming languages and database design.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian and English.

Software Architect:

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 7 years’ experience in software development.
• Participation in at least 3 projects of similar complexity in the last 5 years.
• Deep understanding of modern development technologies, including web technologies.
• Experience in development of high availability and high-performance software, as well as use of high-availability application architecture.
• Deep understanding of system integration, interoperability, and containerization.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian or English.

Database Expert: 

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 3 years’ experience in database design, development, and optimization.
• At least 2 projects implemented in the last 3 years.
• Certifications in any technology from the proposed technology stack is an asset.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian or English.

Senior Software Developer:

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 5 years’ experience in software development using the proposed technology stack.
• Participation in at least 3 projects of similar complexity in the last 5 years.
• Deep understanding of system integration, interoperability, and containerization.
• Participation in at least one project implemented using agile approach in the last 3 years.
• Certifications in any technology from the proposed technology stack is an asset.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian and English.

Software Developer: 

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 3 years’ experience in software development.
• Participated in at least 2 software development projects in the last 3 years.
• At least 2 years of experience in software development using proposed technology stack.
• Deep understanding of system integration, interoperability, and containerization.
• Certifications in any technology from the proposed technology stack is an asset.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian or English.

Web Designer: 

• University degree in design or another relevant field.
• Experience in web design UI / UX in at least 3 projects.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian.

DevOps Specialist:

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 2 years’ experience in systems development environments installation and configuration.
• Experience in software development in the proposed technology stack will be an asset.
• Participated in at least 2 projects implemented in the last 3 years.
• Proven experience with unit testing, continuous integration, DevOps.
• Certifications in any technology from the proposed technology stack.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian or English.

Software Tester:

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• At least 3 years’ experience in software testing in projects of similar complexity.
• Proven experience in software testing analysis and design.
• Proven experience in performance (load and stress) testing and security testing.
• Proven experience in automated testing.
• Certifications in testing or any technology from the required technology stack is an asset.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian or English.

Training Expert:

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• Proven experience in conducting training sessions for end-users and IT specialists in at least 2 similar projects.
• Experience in on-line training development using Moodle e-learning system.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian.

Technical writer: 

• University degree in Computer Science or another relevant domain.
• Proven experience in writing technical and end-user documentation for IS in at least 2 similar projects.
• Extensive experience in development of on-line training courses using Moodle e-learning system.
• Ability to communicate in Romanian and English.

4. Interested eligible Bidders may obtain further information from: Ministry of Education and Research, e-mail: mhep@mecc.gov.md and inspect the bidding document during office hours 09:00 to 17:00 hours at the address given below.

A pre-bid online-meeting which potential bidders may attend will be held on December 6, 2022.

5. The bidding document in English may be obtained by interested eligible Bidders upon the submission of a written application to the address below. The document will be signed electronically³ and sent by e-mail⁴. 

6. Bids must be submitted ONLY ELECTRONICALLY to the electronic mail address mentioned below on or before December 27, 2022; 11:00 AM, local time. Late bids will be rejected. Bids will be publicly opened via online conference where the bidders’ designated representatives will be invited and to which can join anyone who decide to participate at the online conference for bids opening. 

7. All Bids must be accompanied by a “Bid-Securing Declaration”.

8. The address (es) referred to above is: 

Attention: Sergiu Harea

Address: 180 Stefan cel Mare str.  Floor 13, room 1307

City: Chisinau; ZIP Code: MD-2012

Country: Republic of Moldova

Telefon:  +373-22-23-25-02; Fax: +373-22-23-25-02

Electronic mail address: mhep@mecc.gov.md; with copy to cezar.captaciuc@gmail.com and cbordeianu@consultant.com.

______________________________________

¹ For contracts under which the Bidder participated as a joint venture member or sub-contractor, only the Bidder’s share, by value, and role and responsibilities shall be considered to meet this requirement 

² A similar size and complexity project refers to projects implementing system functionalities and processes similar to e-Admission estimated size and complexity, such as SOA systems that entail front-office, back-office, automated business processes, government platform services integration etc.

³ Legally binding according to Law no. 91 as of May 29, 2014. The signature can be verified on https://msign.gov.md.  

⁴ The delivery procedure is usually airmail for overseas delivery and surface mail or courier for local delivery. If urgency or security dictates, courier services may be required for overseas delivery. With the agreement of the World Bank, documents may be distributed by e-mail, downloading from authorized web site(s) or electronic procurement system.