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Contracted service
Maintenance and support for the Parline database, API and data.ipu.org website
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments. The IPU has published reference data on national parliaments in the Parline database since 1996. The database covers the structure and working methods of all national parliaments in the world (193 countries & 270+ parliamentary chambers) and is available in both English and French. The data is used by multiple stakeholders, including UN partners, academic institutes, and international development agencies. It is used to provide indicators as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The current Parline site is online at https://data.ipu.org
A newly updated version of the database is due for publication in April 2024. This technical redevelopment will deliver a modern, open-data application comprising three distinct but interconnected components: The data store, containing up-to-date and historical Parliamentary data, a standards-compliant API to provide programmatic access to this data, and a front-end website which showcases the data through parliament profiles, bespoke reports, global comparison data visualisations and a data explorer.
The purpose of this RFP is to select a supplier to ensure that the new platform continues to be available online and is accessible, secure, discoverable, and performant. The selected service provider will offer pro-active and responsive support to the new platform and the Parline team. The initial maintenance and support contract will run from May to December 2024, but is expected to be renewed on an annual basis.
Overview
Objectives
Parline is a comprehensive database that includes over 500 data fields with historical data stretching over 70 years and is updated daily. Some Parline data, such as the percentages of women and youth in parliaments is featured on the IPU website (www.ipu.org). Parline data is regularly consulted by the IPU Secretariat, parliamentary administrations, international organisations, researchers, and journalists. As such, keeping Parline operational and accurate is essential to IPU’s overall communication strategy, its support to parliaments, and provision of data for comparative research.
The supplier is expected to provide maintenance and support services which ensure optimal performance and up-time for the platform, whilst implementing software upgrades and security patches, and delivering ad-hoc developments.
The supplier will be expected to familiarise themself with technical documentation describing Parline (provided by the IPU) and to advise on the best options for monitoring services, managing technical issues arising and delivering planned maintenance and support. The latter is inclusive of clearly outlining the benefits and potential implications of interventions, timetabling of updates and the estimation of the time needed to complete them.
Technical considerations
Parline is built using the following technologies:
Parline website
The front-end public website is built using the WordPress Content Management System, using Bedrock for application managements and Timber for theming. Highcharts is used for data visualisations and the site is W3C AA-level compliant. Varnish is used for front-end caching. All access to the Parliamentary data is provided via the Parline API via a bespoke plug-in.
Parline API
An OpenAPI-compliant REST API, built in Typescript using the Fastify framework and the fastify-swagger library for the generation of OpenAPI files.
Administration console
A bespoke Next.js project, bootstrapped with Create-Next-App.
These three applications are designed to run on standard Unix operating systems and use the Nginx web service.
Database
A remotely-hosted MongoDB NoSQL data store, using Atlas for search indexes. Both the API and Administration console use a Mongoose-based ORM layer to define schema, communicate with the database and ensure data integrity.
The Parline application is available as open source and published as BitBucket repositories.
Hosting and deployment
The platform, with the exception of the data store, is hosted on an IPU-managed Linode service in locations acceptable to the IPU. Linode offers a managed system-wide back-up service and offers 24-hour fail-over support. All external traffic is routed via Cloudflare. All hosting costs are covered by IPU directly.
Applications are deployed as Docker images, built in BitBucket and stored in DockerHub. We do not envisage that the hosting environment will need to change, but any adaptations proposed by the supplier to improve management, performance or security would need to be cost-effective and continue to be under the control and ownership of IPU.
IPU uses a 3-stage environment workflow to ensure updates are fully tested before being made live and minimise downtime of the live system. The contract is not expected to include making changes to this workflow, but suggestions or recommendations for improvements are welcomed.
Languages
The Parline website is available in the official languages of the IPU, English and French. All parliamentary data is therefore translated and made available via the API. The API interface is published in English-only, as is IPU’s technical documentation. However all other systems are designed to manage multilingual content.
Scope of work
It is expected that the work will fall into 3 areas:
Discovery:
Initial supplier familiarization with the technical architecture and Parline documentation, hosted on Confluence. The agreed working practices, issue tracking and reporting systems, and minimum service levels will be finalised at this point. This may include any supplier proposals for updates to the technical architecture to improve resilience and integration with supplier monitoring systems.
Technical maintenance:
Ongoing monitoring of performance of the system to ensure it is operating within expected limits, and that hosting and backup regimes are in place and working correctly. Regular scheduled and ad-hoc updates for security and application upgrades across system are expected, with testing to ensure updates do not adversely affect the system. Service-critical issues are expected to be resolved within agreed timeframes.
Ongoing support:
Support for IPU to identify and fix minor issues and maintain the code-base. This may also include advice on improvements to the technical infrastructure and software changes for larger feature updates.
The volume of work for technical maintenance and support is estimated at 2 days of work per calendar month, with a minimum retainer of one day per month. The supplier is expected to be flexible depending on the project needs and have some capacity for additional development work if funding becomes available. The contract will be reviewed before the end of the calendar year but is expected to renew on an annual basis.
The prioritisation and exact scope of work will be determined on a monthly basis by mutual agreement.
Payment will be made based on the submission of monthly invoices, with evidence of work undertaken.
Expected overall deliverables
Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Programme Manager for Parliamentary Standards and working closely with the Parline team, the supplier will produce and implement a Services Level Agreement for the maintenance and support of the system. This should include the proposed approach to managing security breaches and critical service outages.
Discovery should begin shortly after the signature of the contract, and result in the set-up of agreed tools for prioritising tasks, reporting issues and responses to requests for support.
Ongoing technical maintenance and support should continue until the end of the contact period. Any changes to the technical architecture or code should be fully documented within the code base or existing documentation.
How to apply
Proposals should be submitted no later than: 9 May 2024. Proposals will be evaluated immediately thereafter.
On request, access to the current code-base and redeveloped websites will be provided.
Please send proposals to Ms. Andrée Lorber, Director, Division of Support Services at [email protected], with the subject line “RFP Parline maintenance 2024”.
Further information can be obtained upon request by contacting Mr. Andy Richardson by email at [email protected].
Content of response
Proposals should contain the following:
- Company qualifications, credentials, and biographies of key points of contact.
- A brief narrative to describe how you would approach the project, including:
- An outline Service Level Agreement with working hours and response times.
- A suggested system for tracking and reporting issues.
- Clarification of any services which would be out-of-scope.
- An outline Service Level Agreement with working hours and response times.
- Up to three case studies demonstrating expertise in relevant technologies and experience of working with similar clients.
- Rates for the services provided.
Criteria for selection
The IPU will choose the supplier based on the following criteria:
- Relevant experience of the company and key staff in working with similar clients.
- Expertise in the technical and data systems in use, including programming languages and DevOps experience. Some knowledge of parliamentary structures and processes is desirable.
- Flexibility and capacity to accommodate the proposed maintenance timelines, and service response times.
- Coverage of the Service Level Agreement, including working hours, out-of-hours support and response times.
- Cost proposal.
The IPU will evaluate each proposal and may contact the highest-scoring proposals for follow-up questions or face-to-face meeting. For more information on IPU procurement processes see our Procurement Manual.
Miscellaneous
Proposals must contain the signature of a duly authorized officer or agent of the company submitting the proposal.
- IPU must continue to own, have full access to and have the right to customized code and designs. All relevant updates will be published to IPU repositories or documentation systems.
- The bidder must disclose any relevant conflicts of interest and/or pending lawsuits.
- IPU will negotiate contract terms upon selection. All contracts are subject to review by IPU legal counsel, and a project will be awarded upon signing of an agreement or contract, which outlines terms, scope, budget, timeline, and other necessary items.
IPU will not cover costs related to preparing or issuing proposals.
Deadline: