Call for tender for English proofreading services

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Eurodad is looking for proofreaders and copyeditors working in English to help us to deliver the highest quality outputs to our European and global audiences. 

Deadline: 13 December 2022, 23:59 CET

Eurodad is a network of 60 NGOs across Europe, working on development finance advocacy. Our focus is on strengthening the power of European CSOs, working as part of a global movement to push governments and powerful institutions to adopt transformative changes to the global economic and financial system. More information can be found on our website.

Within the framework of our grants from the European Union and other funders, we are looking for proofreaders and copyeditors working in English to help us to deliver the highest quality outputs to our European and global audiences.

For an overview of our publications, see our reports section

Objectives of the contract

Eurodad already has a pool of experienced English language proofreaders/copyeditors to help our team of advocacy and policy specialists to produce well-written pieces of research and analyses that resonate with our audiences (CSOs and activists, academics, policymakers on a European and global level, journalists). Periodically, we put out fresh tenders for this pool.

Outputs for this contract

Eurodad produces around six major reports (20-30 pages), 12 briefings (4-8 pages), 40 blogs (800 words), 25 newsletters and several reports to funders (10-30 pages) per year. On top of that, we produce multiple open letters, statements, position papers and other similar outputs. 

Contract timeline

The contract will be a framework agreement for as-needed services to be provided between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024 (or until the upper budget limit of 30,000€ has been reached – whichever comes first). Within this period, Eurodad will always aim to give as much notice as possible for proofreading requests. The deadline will be given by Eurodad upon request for proofreading.

During office hours of working days, we would hope to allow for the following timeframes:

• We may ask for some short outputs to be produced by the following day, so we are looking for flexibility within reason
• For a major report, we would allow 5 days for proofreading
• For a briefing, we would allow 2 days for proofreading
• For a shorter piece, we would allow 1 day

Technical specifications

• Documents may vary from 1 page to lengthy reports (24-40 pages).
• Content of the documents will generally be written in a style that aims to be easily accessible to a variety of audiences, including someone new to the topics covered by the documents – with clear language and explanations of technical terminology. Nevertheless, the documents will cover content related to economic justice and make use of specific terminology relevant to this work. Thus, experience working with documents related to economic justice and international development would be a significant asset.

Practical arrangements 

• Documents for proofreading will be exchanged by email. 
• Any request for proofreading will be made and agreed by both parties by email under the conditions laid  out in a framework contract signed with the selected proofreader. 
• The consultant must be available throughout the entire period of the framework agreement. 

Selection criteria

Eurodad selects suppliers/consultants to be awarded for a contract based on best value for money. For this tender, the following criteria will be considered:

1. Cost
2. A minimum of 3 years of experience: proofreading for Civil Society Organisations, UN bodies, or other related clients
3. Familiarity with the theme of economic justice and terminology related to tax justice, debt justice, development finance and/or other related topics will be considered a strong advantage
4. Evidence of capacity and reliability: based on Eurodad’s past positive experience with bidder, references from other organisations or evidence of similar contracts in the past.
5. Commitment to Eurodad’s values: a demonstrated commitment to promotion of economic justice.
6. Quality of translation: short-listed bidders may be requested to do a short proofreading sample, as proof of the quality of the proofreading

Exclusion criteria1 

If any of the following are true for the bidder at the time of submitting their tender or at any time during the procurement process, they will be excluded from consideration for winning a contract with Eurodad. The bidder may also be blacklisted for participation in future Eurodad procurements. By submitting a tender, the bidder declares that they are not in one of the following situations:

a) They are bankrupt, subject to insolvency, or being wound up, are having their assets administered by a liquidator or by a court, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, or are in any such situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national (or EU) legislation or regulations; 

b) They have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with applicable laws; 

c) It has been established by a court’s final judgment or by a final administrative decision that the bidder is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the bidder belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes a wrongful intent or gross negligence. This includes:

i. misrepresenting the information required as part of this procurement procedure
ii. entering into agreement with other persons with the aim of distorting competition
iii. violating intellectual property rights
iv. attempting to influence the decision-making process during this procurement procedure
v. attempting to get confidential information that might give an unfair advantage in the procurement procedure

d) It has been established by a court’s final judgment that the bidder is guilty of any of the following:

i. fraud
ii. corruption
iii. relations with a criminal organisation
iv. money laundering or terrorist financing
v. terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences
vi. child labour or other offences related to trafficking of human beings

e) In the past, the bidder has shown significant failures in complying with the main obligations of a procurement contract with the client or financed by the European Union, which led to early termination or other contractual penalties, or which was discovered during checks or audits.

f) It has been established by a court’s final judgment or by a final administrative decision that the bidder has committed an irregularity.2

g) It has been established by a court’s final judgment or by a final administrative decision that the bidder has created an entity under a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or any other legal obligations in the jurisdiction of its registered office, central administration or principal place of business.

h) It has been established by a court’s final judgment or final administrative decision that the bidder has been created with the intent described in point (g)

If Eurodad has any reason to be concerned that the bidder may be in one of these situations, Eurodad may request appropriate evidence. Additionally, if the bidder is selected for a contract, Eurodad will confirm that the contractor is not included in the list of EU restrictive measures (sanctions list)3.

How will Eurodad decide who wins the contract?

Eurodad has a Tender Committee made up of at least four members who will open and evaluate all tenders received. We will first check that all tenders are complete and submitted on time. Incomplete or late tenders will be rejected. We will then evaluate the tenders against the Selection Criteria listed above and select the supplier which offers the lowest price and best matches all the other Selection Criteria. Any supplier who matches one of the Exclusion Criteria will be rejected.

Anti-fraud policy

Eurodad has a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption and fraud in all its forms. Eurodad aims to prevent fraudulent activities and to respond to any allegations or potential fraud swiftly and effectively. If the bidder or any member of staff is aware of any corrupt or fraudulent activities in relation to this procurement process, they are requested to report it to Eurodad’s Director ([email protected]) immediately. 

Privacy policy

If you decide to submit a tender to this call, please note that Eurodad will keep your information and offer for at least 10 years as it is legally required as supporting documentation for our donors even if you are not selected for the contract. For more information about our privacy practices please visit Eurodad’s website.

Payment

Bidders should be aware that if they are selected for this contract, payment will be made on the following terms: payment only after delivery of each proofread product, and following submission of an invoice.

Specific requirements for tenders

Prices should be given in EUR (€), exclusive of VAT

Instructions for submitting tenders

Deadline: Tenders must be submitted no later than 13/12/2022, 23:59 CET. Tenders submitted after this time will not be considered.

Where and how to submit tenders: Tenders should be submitted via email to [email protected] with the subject “Tender” and the tender reference: 2022-15

Language of tenders: The tenders must be in English. 

The submitted tender package must include:

o The complete offer with total prices and relevant details, including  

Price per hour 

Prices should be given in EUR, exclusive of VAT 

o The signed declaration on honour at the end of this document confirming that the bidder does not  match any of the exclusion criteria 

o Companies must provide a copy of their company’s registration document, as proof of their nationality in compliance with the European Union’s Rules of Nationality. (Freelance consultants  are exempt from this requirement).  

o a CV. 

o If the bidder has not previously worked with Eurodad before, they should provide at least two previous employers’ references. 

Tenders which are incomplete or not submitted as described above will be excluded. 

Contact Person

If you have questions about the terms of reference or invitation to tender requirements, please send these in writing to Lena Hoffmeister at [email protected].


Endnotes

1These exclusion criteria are in compliance with the 1 Aug 2020 PRAG (the Practical Guide on contract procedures for European Union external action), Section 2.6.10.1.
2The European Union defines ‘irregularity’ as “any infringement of a provision of Community law resulting from an act or omission by an economic operator, which has, or would have, the effect of prejudicing the general budget of the Communities or budgets managed by them, either by reducing or losing revenue accruing from own resources collected directly on behalf of the Communities, or by an unjustified item of expenditure.” (Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95)
3In compliance with 1 Aug 2020 PRAG, Section 2.4


Download the call for tender