Tender Notice - Procurement and Delivery of Microsoft Licenses

International IDEA - The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

Tender Reference No: 2026-03-088
Assignment Name: Procurement and Delivery of Microsoft licenses
Project Name: Microsoft Cloud Licensing Services for International IDEA

Deadline for Submissions: Proposals must be submitted on or before 23:59 (CET), April 24, 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. 2026-03-088 Technical and Financial Proposals – Do not open before 23:59 (CET), April 24, 2026.

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

Clarifications may be requested via e-mail no later than April 16, 2026 at the above email address. Note a response to a request for clarifications will be issued to all tenderers on our website http://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 for the Procurement and Delivery of Microsoft licenses. 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 31^th May 2026 and they will have to be completed before 30^th May 2031.

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 Microsoft CSP Authorization:
The bidder must be an authorized Microsoft Direct or Indirect Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) under the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program and must be authorized to transact in the CSP market corresponding to International IDEA’s tenant country (Sweden).

Bidders that are not authorized Microsoft Direct or Indirect CSP partners will not be considered. Bidders must also be legally permitted to sell and invoice Microsoft services in Sweden.

2.3 The proposal should provide the following information:

Company profile: A brief description of the bidder’s organization, including legal name, registered address, years of operation, and relevant experience in providing Microsoft cloud licensing services.
Microsoft Partner Authorization: Proof of Microsoft Partner status, including the Microsoft Partner ID, evidence of active Direct CSP authorization, and confirmation that the bidder is authorized to transact Microsoft licenses in the Sweden CSP market.
1. The bidder must provide proof of Microsoft Partner status:
  1. Direct CSP bidder must provide:
    1. Microsoft Partner ID (MPN ID) associated with the bidding entity;
    2. Evidence of active Direct Cloud Solution Provider (Direct CSP) authorization from Microsoft;
    3. Evidence that the bidder is authorized to transact in the Sweden CSP market.
  2. Indirect CSP bidder must provide:
    1. Microsoft Partner ID (MPN ID) associated with the bidding entity;
    2. Evidence of active CSP reseller authorization under the Microsoft CSP program;
    3. Documentation confirming their relationship with an authorized Microsoft CSP distributor (Indirect Provider);
    4. Confirmation that the bidder and/or their distributor are authorized to transact Microsoft licenses for customers located in Sweden.
Technical Proposal: A description of how the bidder will provide the requested Microsoft licenses and services, including license provisioning, subscription management, and support capabilities;
Service and Support Model: Information on the bidder’s customer support arrangements, including service hours, response times, escalation procedures, and account management;
Relevant Experience: Evidence of previous experience providing Microsoft licensing services to organizations of similar size;
A completed and signed declaration of honour form: A completed and signed declaration of honour form. Please note that the attached Declaration of Honour Form should be submitted as a separate file together with the proposal. All sections must be ticked 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;
Completed Financial Proposal Table (Annex D2.1).

Financial Proposal:

2.4 All prices must be submitted in EUR. (where necessary, exchange rates can be obtained from this link. Please use the exchange rates for the month of March 2026).

Suppliers must complete the Financial Proposal Table (Annex D2.1). Prices must be firm for evaluation purposes, reflecting current Microsoft CSP pricing.

International IDEA does not pay VAT for IT related goods and services in Sweden and therefore Swedish based suppliers must quote prices that exclude VAT. If the supplier is resident outside Sweden, the supplier must quote prices according to the laws of your country as it relates to VAT. If VAT is chargeable to a Swedish customer, then the prices must be inclusive of VAT. International IDEA financial evaluation will be based on the cost to International IDEA.

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 clearly labelled as “Technical Proposal” i to vi and “Financial Proposal”, vii. 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. Should unforeseen delays occur, International IDEA will consider the proposal valid after 90 days unless the proposal states otherwise. During this period, the consultants are expected to keep available the professional staff proposed for the assignment.

Section 4 Evaluation of Proposals

4.1 Eligibility requirement - Microsoft CSP Authorization:

The bidder must be an authorized Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partner eligible to transact in the Sweden CSP market, matching International IDEA’s tenant country.

The bidder must provide proof of Microsoft Partner status, including their Microsoft Partner ID and evidence of active CSP authorization transact in the Sweden CSP market.

Failure to provide evidence of valid Microsoft CSP authorization will result in the bidder being deemed non-compliant and the proposal will not be considered for further evaluation.

Technical Evaluation:

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

Compliance – 60 points:
Ability to deliver all required Microsoft cloud services (including Microsoft 365 licensing, Azure consumption services, and license management, in accordance with the Terms of Reference (ToR) and Annex D2.1 Financial Proposal.
Relevant Experience and Track Record – 20 points:
Demonstrated experience in providing Microsoft cloud licensing services, including Microsoft 365 and related cloud services, to organizations of comparable size, scope, and complexity. For the purpose of this evaluation, “comparable” refers to organizations with at least 300 users or Microsoft 365 licenses, operating in a multi-site or international environment.
Service Delivery and Support Model – 10 points:
Quality and clarity of the bidder’s proposed service delivery and support model, including commitment to the following minimum service levels:
- License provisioning within 48 hours from request or Service Order;
- Subscription management, including timely renewals, modifications, and cancellations;
- Customer support response within one (1) business day;
- Escalation procedures for issue resolution.
Operational Capacity and Account Management – 10 points:
Demonstrated capacity to deliver the services, including availability of qualified personnel, a designated account manager, and defined communication and reporting arrangements for managing Microsoft subscriptions throughout the contract period.

Proposals must score a minimum of 80 points to qualify for further consideration 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 = 20%;
f = 80%.

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 at the time of award of contract, 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.

4.11 International IDEA may require additional Microsoft licenses or services during the contract period, and these will be procured under the contract entered into with the successful bidder subject to successful negotiation regarding price.

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 A2.1 Terms of Reference (TOR);
Annex D2.1 Financial Proposal;
Declaration of Honour Form;
General terms of agreement.

5.3 Further information on International IDEA may be found on our website http://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, Financial Proposal Template, Declaration of Honour Form and Agreement General Terms are available at: https://www.idea.int/procurement-and-tenders.

Don't forget to mention EuroBrussels when applying.

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