Tender Notice - Media Outreach and Monitoring Services

Tender Notice - Media Outreach and Monitoring Services

(For Use Across All International IDEA Regions)

International IDEA - The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

Tender Reference No: 2025-12-079
Assignment Name: Media Outreach and Monitoring Services (For Use Across All International IDEA Regions)
Project Name: Communications

Deadline for Submissions: Proposals must be submitted on or before 23:59 (CET), 28 January 2026. Late submissions will not be considered for evaluation.

Address for Submissions: E-mail: tendersubmissions@idea.int

This email address is set up with auto-response to acknowledge emails received. In the event that you did not receive an autoreply, please send a text message prior to the deadline for submission (NO CALLS, CALLS WILL NOT BE ANSWERED) to this number +46725375735. In your text message, please provide the following:

• Tender reference no. and title;
• Email address you used for submission;
• Date and Time, you sent your submission (e.g. 01 December 2021, 12:30 CET);
• Please also send the above information to tender@idea.int before the deadline for submission.

Format for Submissions: Proposals must be submitted by email. Technical and Financial proposals must be submitted in separate files and marked accordingly. Price should not be mentioned in the Technical Proposal.

The following text should be put in the subject field of the email: Tender No. 2025-12-079 Technical and Financial Proposals – Do not open before 23:59 (CET), 28 January 2026.

Email Address for Clarifications: E-mail: tender@idea.int

Clarifications may be requested via e-mail no later than 14 January 2026 at the above email address. Note a response to a request for clarifications will be issued to all tenderers on our website https://www.idea.int/. Therefore, tenderers are advised to check the website regularly during the process.

Note: There are two different email addresses as outlined above, one to be used for Submission of your final proposal and the second one to be used for clarifications and other related correspondence.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Section 1 General Information

1.1 The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1995, with member states across all continents, which aims to support sustainable democracy world-wide and assist in the development of institutions and the culture of democracy. At the interface between research, fieldwork and the donor community, IDEA provides a forum for dialogue, builds networks of experts, develops training materials and provides strategic advice at international, regional and national level, cooperating with a range of organizations.

1.2 International IDEA now invites proposals from qualified bidders (firms, organizations, agencies) for Media Outreach and Monitoring Services. The services include Media Relations, Media Monitoring and Media Reporting. A detailed description of the assignment is provided in the Terms of Reference attached to this Request for Proposals.

1.3 Tentative timeframe: It is anticipated that the services will commence on 15 March 2026 for an initial period of 1 (one) year with the option to renew up to a total maximum of five (5) years.

Section 2 Preparation of Proposals

Essential Requirements

2.1 Language: The official language for the proposal, contract, reports and any other documents in relation to the assignment is English.

2.2 Estimated input: 60 hours a month.

2.3 Required experience: Experience in both international and Swedish media outreach and monitoring.

2.4 The proposal should provide the following information:

1. A brief description of the company/organization and an outline of recent experience on assignments of a similar nature;
2. The proposed work plan for performing the assignment, along with any comments or suggestions on the Terms of Reference. This includes both media monitoring, media reporting and media outreach (including in person media relations workplan as well as digital tool);
3. Reference Letter from three (3) current client references. This should include length, type and quality of service;
4. A completed and signed declaration of honour form;
5. Please note that the attached Declaration of Honour Form should be submitted as a separate file together with the proposal. All sections must be ticket YES or NO. Please note that in Section 3, in the absence of conflict of interest, this section should be marked Yes to confirm the absence of a conflict.

Financial Proposal

2.5 The inclusive monthly fee required to complete the services and details of any incidental expenses likely to be incurred.

2.6 VAT or any other indirect taxes. International IDEA is not tax exempt and does not have a VAT number. The Bidder must act in accordance with their country’s tax laws as it relates to providing services to non-resident organizations. The Bidder shall be responsible for their own tax obligations as per the laws of the respective country.

Section 3 Submission of Proposals

3.1 Proposals should be submitted in electronic format by e-mail. Technical and Financial Proposals must be submitted in separate files and marked accordingly. The full details on how to submit proposals is under Tender Notice at the beginning of this document.

3.2 Proposals must remain valid for at least 90 days following the deadline for their submission stated under the Tender Notice. In the event there should be any (unexpected) delays, International IDEA will treat proposals as valid until the tender process and evaluation of proposals has been completed.

Section 4 Evaluation of Proposals

Technical Evaluation

4.1 The proposals will be evaluated and scored against the following technical criteria with respective corresponding weights:

1. Understanding of ToR and Proposed Work Plan (maximum 30 points):
   • Clarity and relevance on delivering global media outreach and monitoring;
   • Innovation in approach (e.g., multilingual outreach, use of analytics tools).
2. Organizational Experience and Capacity (maximum 25 points):
   • Track record in international media relations and monitoring across multiple regions;
   • Record on national media, and evidence of work in Sweden;
   • Evidence of similar assignments for intergovernmental or global organizations;
   • Examples of customised pitches to secure interviews, increase in event attendance.
3. Media Monitoring and Analytics Capability (maximum 25 points):
   • Ability to provide comprehensive monitoring (traditional + social media) and custom reports;
   • Use of advanced tools (e.g., dashboards, influence scores, sentiment analysis);
   • Capacity for ad hoc reporting and data exports.
4. Quality of References and Client Feedback (maximum 20 points):
   • Three reference letters from current clients.

Note the minimum passing score in the technical evaluation is 80 points. Only proposals that achieve a technical score of 80 points and above will be considered for financial evaluation.

The maximum technical score (T) is 100 points.

Financial Evaluation

4.2. The financial proposals will be verified and, if necessary, adjustments will be made to the prices to ensure consistency with the technical proposals in terms of work input and to eliminate arithmetical errors.

4.3. The corrected prices will then be converted to the currency of evaluation to obtain the evaluation price (E). The exchange rate is the IDEA monthly exchange rate.

4.4 The currency used for evaluation is EURO.

4.5 The financial scores (F) will be computed as follows:

The lowest evaluation price proposal (E_m) will be given a financial score (F_m) of 100 points.

The financial scores of the other proposals will be computed applying the formula:

F = 100 x E_m/E, where:

• E_m is the lowest evaluation price; and
• E is the evaluation price of the proposal under consideration.

Consolidated Technical and Financial Score

4.6 The final consolidated scores (S) will be computed by applying the formula:

S = t x T + f x F, where:

• t is the weight given to the technical score;
• f is the weight given to the financial score.

4.7 The weights given to the technical and financial scores are:

• t = 60%;
• f = 40%.

4.8 The bidder ranked highest will be invited to negotiate the contract and if negotiations are successful the selected bidder will be awarded the contract. Should the negotiations fail; the second ranked bidder will be invited to negotiations.

4.9 International IDEA reserves the right during the negotiation stage to vary the quantity of services and/or goods, or scope of work by up to a maximum of twenty-five per cent (25%) of the original TOR. This negotiation will not permit any changes to unit fee rates or other terms and conditions outlined in the tender proposal.

4.10 International IDEA reserves the right to directly award a follow up contract to the contractor selected for the tender to carry out potential future work related to this initial assignment. This will depend on satisfactory delivery of the tender assignment and will be subject to quotation.

Section 5 Final Considerations

5.1. International IDEA will not be bound to select any of the proposals.

5.2 The following documents are enclosed with this Request for Proposals:

• Annex A3 Declaration of Honour Form;
• International IDEA’s General Terms and Conditions;
• Annex B - Terms of Reference.

5.3 Further information on International IDEA may be found on our website https://www.idea.int/.

5.4 Both the successful and unsuccessful bidders will be notified in writing following the completion of the evaluation and contract award process.

Complaints regarding any aspect of the tender process should be addressed in writing to both the Internal Auditor and the Executive Director at International IDEA. The address is tender.complaints@idea.int.

The Tender Notice and Request for Proposals, Terms of Reference, Declaration of Honour Form and Agreement General Terms are available at: https://www.idea.int/procurement-and-tenders.