Tender for Local eCase Developer for NABU

Terms of Reference

Local eCase Developer for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine

Background and context

The European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI) Phase III is the biggest European Union (EU) support programme in the area of anti-corruption in Ukraine, co-funded and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark on behalf of the EU.

The overall objective of EUACI Phase III is reduction of corruption in Ukraine at the national and local levels. One of its beneficiaries is the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). The NABU is a state law enforcement agency of Ukraine with the key objective of preventing, exposing, stopping, investigating and solving corruption-related offences committed by high officials. The EUACI provides its long-term support in the increasing NABU’s capacity building.

Within the framework of this assignment, further development of an electronic system enabling the full-fledged paperless exchange of data at the stage of pre-trial investigation (eCase management system) is envisaged.

The contracting authority is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, EUACI, hereinafter referred as the Customer. The Beneficiary is the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

The EUACI supported the development of eCase management system, provided maintenance and support of the system, as well the development of additional modules on eCase integration with other state information systems.

In June 2024 EUACI extended the contract with the eCase system developer to provide a limited scope of remote maintenance and support services until the end of December 2025. However, besides the maintenance and support, NABU requested EUACI support to further improvement of eCase integrations and overall usability of the system.

Objective

The overall objective of this assignment is procurement of services to develop the functionality of the eCase management system for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, including the development of eCase integration with other automated systems (D3 and URPI).

Scope of Work

The Contractor shall provide eCase system improvement and development services in line with the requirements set out under the "Scope of work" and “Deliverables” sections of this TOR for the following:

1. Improvement and development of eCase functionality related to the use of addresses and directories of the administrative and territorial system

The service includes:

1.1. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the eCase system related to the use of addresses:

"Participant" and "Physical evidence" cards in the part of filling in addresses;
the logic of filling in the addresses in the updated "Participant" and "Physical evidence" cards, which does not require a hierarchical order of filling in the fields, provides a search and prompt for possible names of territories and automatic additional filling of addresses;
rules for saving and updating addresses, as well as "pulling" addresses into procedural documents, provided there are multiple addresses of a certain type and there is a sign of address activity;
requirements for updating data in the eCase database.

1.2. Preparation of updated directories of territories on the basis of following the data existing in the system and supplementing with data in accordance with the Codifier[1].

1.3. Support and management of requirements in the process of development and testing of functionality of the eCase system related to the use of addresses.

2. Improvement and development of eCase-D3 integration related to the use of addresses and directories of the administrative and territorial system, as well as data of legal entities - branches and foreign companies

The service includes:

2.1. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the eCase system related to integration interaction with D3:

the logic of the formation of the integration message from eCase to D3, which involves the transfer of the address, is distributed according to the hierarchy levels of the territory;
the interface of the participant's card - a legal entity, taking into account the choice of the type of legal entity and filling in the attributes of a foreign company or a branch of a Ukrainian company;
the logic of forming an integration message, which provides for the transfer of the additional attribute "Registration Data" of a legal entity - a foreign company or a branch of a Ukrainian company.

2.2. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the integration module of the D3 system:

the logic of processing the integration message from eCase, which involves receiving the address, which is distributed according to the levels of the territory hierarchy;
the logic of processing the integration message from eCase, which involves receiving the additional attribute "Registration data" of a legal entity - a foreign company or a branch of a Ukrainian company;
changes to the interface of the participant's card - a legal entity, subject to an increase in the number of attributes displayed in the "Note" field.

2.3. Development of the functionality of the D3 system, which includes:

processing of integration messages of the updated structure;
change in the data storage structure in D3;
visualization of additional attributes obtained by integration from eCase in the D3 user interface.

2.4. Support and management of requirements in the process of development and testing of the functionality of the eCase system related to the integration interaction with D3.

2.5. Support and management of requirements in the process of developing the functionality of the integration module of the D3 system.

3. Improvement and development of eCase-URPI integration: implementation of the function "Isolation of criminal proceedings materials"

The service includes:

3.1. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the eCase system during the implementation of the function "Isolation of criminal proceedings materials":

the logic of processing an integration message from URPI, which involves receiving a new type of message with the attributes of a new proceeding created by allocation;
the logic of the "Isolation" business process, the introduction of a new state of the entity "Criminal Proceedings";
requirements for the data storage structure in the eCase database;
user interface requirements to enable the eCase user to perform the Highlight function.

3.2. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the URPI system when performing the function "Isolation of criminal proceedings materials":

the logic of processing triggers and the formation of an integration message to eCase following the creation of a new proceeding under the jurisdiction of the NABU in the URPI by selecting materials;
requirements for the integration service of sending a new type of message to eCase;
requirements for the URPI administration subsystem, which ensure re-sending to eCase of messages of a new type, the placement of which in the MQ Rabbit queue was delayed or unsuccessful.

3.3. Development of the functionality of the URPI system when performing the function "Isolation of criminal proceedings materials":

generation of an integration message to eCase as a result of the function "Allocation of pre-trial investigation materials";
a new type of message to eCase;
forwarding new type messages to eCase.

3.4. Support and management of requirements in the process of development and testing of the functionality of the eCase system during the implementation of the "Isolation of criminal proceedings materials" function.

3.5. Support and management of requirements in the process of development and testing of the functionality of the URPI system during the implementation of the "Isolation of criminal proceedings materials" function.

4. Improvement and development of eCase - URPI integration: implementation of the "Unification of criminal proceedings materials" function

The service includes:

4.1. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the eCase system when performing the function "Unification of materials":

the logic of the business process "Unification of materials", requirements for the number of offenses to be combined, rules for transferring documents, calculating damages, compiling a plot based on the results of unification;
requirements for blocking functions for proceedings in the "combined" status;
requirements for forming and sending an integration message to the URPI as a result of the unification of criminal proceedings in eCase.

4.2. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the URPI system when performing the function "Unification of materials":

the logic of processing the integration message from eCase, which involves receiving a new type of message about the results of combining the materials of criminal proceedings;
requirements for checks before saving data on combining the materials of criminal proceedings, which was performed on the eCase side.

4.3. Development of the functionality of the URPI system when performing the function "Unification of materials":

reception from eCase and processing of a new type of notification about combining criminal proceedings materials;
saving in the URPI data on the execution of the unification of the materials of the criminal proceedings, which was carried out on the eCase side.

4.4. Support and management of requirements in the process of developing and testing the functionality of the eCase system when performing the function "Unification of materials".

4.5. Support and management of requirements in the process of development and testing of the functionality of the URPI system when performing the "Unification of materials" function.

5. Improvement and development of eCase-URPI integration: user data management

The service includes:

5.1. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the eCase system related to user data management:

the logic of updating the data of eCase users based on the data of the integration messages from the URPI;
logic for processing additional attributes of integration messages from the URPI;
requirements for the “URPI_User card” interface regarding the display of additional attributes;
the logic of access to attribute editing and the logic of saving user data, including to preserve the historicity of data changes;
requirements for new functionality for sampling and exporting user account data.

5.2. Identification and approval of requirements for the development/improvement of the functionality of the URPI system related to user data management:

requirements for the composition of the attributes of the accounts of URPI users who work in eCase and have the right to save in URPI the data entered through the eCase interface;
requirements for the conditions of inspections imposed on the attributes of the organization - the place of work of the eCase user, and related to changes in the organizational structure of NABU and SAPO.

5.3. Development of functionality of the URPI system related to user data management:

of additional attributes from user accounts as part of the integration message to eCase;
processing and storage of reports where the sender is an employee of any of the NABU's units or the SAPO's prosecutor's office.

5.4. Support and management of requirements in the process of development and testing of the functionality of the eCase system related to user data management.

5.5. Support and management of requirements in the process of development and testing of the functionality of the URPI system related to user data management.

6. Organization of workshops with business users of the system.

The service includes:

6.1. Renting a room for a workshop and preparing workplaces;

6.2. Catering at the rate of 1 lunch and 2 coffee breaks per person per day;

Deliverables

The deliverables under the assignment covers the implementation of all activities required for the achievement of its Objective and should include the following actions on eCase management system:

1. Improved and developed eCase - D3 integration related to the use of addresses and directories of the administrative-territorial system, as well as data of legal entities - branches and foreign companies.
2. Improved and developed eCase - URPI integration: implementation of the "Isolation of criminal proceedings materials" function.
3. Improved and developed eCase - URPI integration: implementation of the "Unification of criminal proceedings materials" function.
4. Improved and developed eCase - URPI integration: user data management.
5. Improved and developed eCase functionality related to the use of addresses and directories of the administrative and territorial system.
6. A series of workshops with eCase system users of to identify and agree on the developments and its implementation have been organized upon agreement with the EUACI and the Beneficiary.

Timing

The intended commencement date of the eCase Development services by the local Service Provider is from 21 October 2024 until 21 March 2025, with the possibility of non-cost extension upon mutual agreement between the contracting parties.

Methodology

It is envisaged that the assignment will be implemented by a team of experts familiar with the context and experienced with similar assignments.

By putting forward a team of experts, the Contractor shall ensure that the task will be developed with as much straightforwardness as possible, the proposed approach and the methodology shall be fine-tuned and a detailed work plan shall be elaborated. The bidders are requested to indicate their suggested division between the experts.

Team Composition and Qualifications

Requirements for the project team:

Knowledge of the pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings;
Experience in developing and long-term support of products with numerous integrations and a complex user interface;
Proficiency in documenting technologies that ensure knowledge inheritance and continuous development of systems;
High competence in information security;

All members of the project team and the contractor company should execute
non-disclosure agreements;
The project team should be delegated for the entire duration of the project; the composition of the project team may only be modified as a matter of exception, subject to agreement of the parties; the contractor should provide a qualified replacement in a short time.

The Contractor’s team is expected to comprise the following profiles:

Project Manager
DevOps Engineer
Business Analyst
Solution Architect/Lead developer
Developer
QA Engineer

Key qualifications of the Project Manager include:

General qualifications:

At least a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Programming, or any other relevant field;
Minimum of 5 years of professional experience working with planning, management and implementation of IT-related projects.

Adequacy for the assignment:

At least 3 years of team management in web-based software development;
Successful implementation of IT projects of a similar nature;
Managerial experience in a foreign donor-funded project related to the development/management/assessment of ICT solutions for a government agency would be an advantage.

Experience with the region and languages:

Relevant working experience from the region;
Fluency in Ukrainian;
Good knowledge of English.

Key qualifications of the Engineer of implementation application software (DevOps) include:

General qualifications:

At least a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or any other related technical field;
Minimum of five years of professional experience in IT projects.

Adequacy for the assignment:

Ability to support developers, enforce optimal methodologies, and guarantee seamless deployment of code to production servers, maintenance and assistance;
At least three years of experience in OS Linux (RHEL, CentOS, Debian/Ubuntu);
Familiar with automation tools like Ansible, Tower, GitLab CI/CD, OCI Images/Containers, Bash Scripting);
At least one year of experience in container orchestration like Kubernetes/OpenShift;
Network knowledge on CCNA or equivalent practical level (network troubleshooting, DNS, VLANs, Trunk/Access ports, Routing);
At least three years of experience in VMWare vSphere.
Successful implementation of IT projects of a similar nature;
Experience in a foreign donor-funded project related to the development of ICT solutions for a government agency would be an advantage.

Experience with the region and languages:

Relevant working experience from the region;
Fluency in Ukrainian.

Key qualifications of the Business Analyst

General qualifications:

At least a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Economics, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, or any other relevant field;
At least 3 years of proven working experience in business analysis.

Adequacy for the assignment:

Experience in building the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN 2.0) schemas to describe business processes, with the subsequent design of interface forms syntax;
At least three years of experience
At least one year of experience in IT projects related to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine;
At least one year of experience in projects related to electronic document flow systems;
Experience in a foreign donor-funded project related to the development of ICT solutions for a government agency would be an advantage.

Experience with the region and languages:

Relevant working experience from the region;
Fluency in Ukrainian.

Key qualifications of the Solution Architect/Lead developer

General qualifications:

At least a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, or any other related technical field;
At least 5 years of professional working experience in software development, telecommunication, information technology or any related technical field.

Adequacy for the assignment:

Experience in building and implementing applications with the microservice architecture;
Technical knowledge in areas such as client-side components, server-side languages, web application frameworks and database management systems;
Experience with version control systems, a thorough understanding of the architecture of web applications, web security and encryption, backend systems integration with other systems would be an advantage;
Demonstrated experience in designing secure systems, including the implementation of security best practices, compliance with international security standards, and conducting risk assessments;
Experience in a foreign donor-funded project related to the development of ICT solutions for a government agency would be an advantage.

Experience with the region and languages:

Relevant working experience from the region;
Fluency in Ukrainian.

Key qualifications of the Developer

General qualifications:

At least a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Programming, or any other relevant field;
Minimum of 3 years of professional experience working with development and implementation of IT-related projects.

Adequacy for the assignment:

Experience with Business Process Models and Notation;
Experience with tools such as Consul and Migration Designer;
Domain knowledge in the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine;
Domain knowledge in the electronic document flow systems;
Experience in a foreign donor-funded project related to the development of ICT solutions for a government agency would be an advantage.

Experience with the region and languages:

Relevant working experience from the region;
Fluency in Ukrainian.

Key qualifications of the QA Engineer

General qualifications:

At least a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or any other related technical field;
At least 3 years of proven working experience in software testing and QA.

Adequacy for the assignment:

Practical experience in automated and manual testing of software, including the testing process automation of the appropriate complexity which involves testing of frontend and backend parts, infrastructure, equipment (capacity), application;
Experience in integration testing, ensuring that components and systems interact as expected;
Experience in implementing at least one project in a similar area for a government agency would be an advantage.

Experience with the region and languages:

Relevant working experience from the region;
Fluency in Ukrainian.

The contractor can propose the composition of the project team that, in his opinion, is most suitable for the task.

Estimated budget and Payment

The maximum budget for this assignment all included may not exceed EUR 33,000 (approximately DKK 246,220[2]). The Tenderer’s financial proposal shall include all costs for a fee and project-related reimbursable expenses.

All the payments under the Contract shall be made in UAH according to the official NBU exchange rate published on the business day of the invoice issuance by the Supplier.

The Supplier may request 30% of the payment on signing the contract and the remaining 70% will be paid when the entire assignment will be completed.

The final payment will require verification of completion of deliverables and approval by the Beneficiary and the Customer of the Contractor’s deliverables.

Reporting and management

The performance of the Contractor will be judged upon reaching the purpose of this contract as well as obtaining its results, as indicated in the section “Objective” and “Deliverables” herein respectively. Moreover, the performance of the Contractor will be judged upon the successful implementation of all the specific activities indicated in the section “Scope of work” of this TOR.

By signing the contract, the Contractor agrees to hold in trust and confidence any information or documents, disclosed to the Contractor or discovered by the Contractor or prepared by the Contractor in the course of or as a result of the implementation of the contract, and agrees that it shall be used only for the contract implementation and shall not be disclosed to any third party.

The Contractor is responsible for the timely delivery of the outputs required in the required quality and quantity.

The EUACI will appoint a contact person responsible for the management of this assignment from the side of the EUACI, including for any correspondence with regard to the implementation of the assignment and for issues related to the agreement between the contractor and the EUACI. The contractor will report to and ensure that the appointed contact person is copied in on all relevant communication related to the assignment, including correspondence with all stakeholders

In the period until acceptance, the EUACI, Contractor, and Beneficiary will hold regular project group meetings to exchange information and seek to clarify any questions of whatsoever nature. The purpose of the project group meetings is to ensure follow-up on any activities between the meetings, and to maintain a common overview of the current stage of the project at a detailed level, based on the applicable detailed schedule, and to ensure the day-to-day progress.

How to Apply

The deadline for submitting the proposals is 10 October 2024, 17:00 Kyiv time.

All interested companies or experts should submit:

Filled and signed Appendix 1 (portfolio of relevant projects, CV of key staff, technical approach and workplan)
Signed Financial offer.

The proposal shall include the aforementioned information and should be submitted within the above deadline to [email protected], CC to [email protected] indicating the subject line: NABU eCase Local Developer.

Bidding language: English.

Questions & Answers:

Questions may be submitted in English via e-mail to the contact person mentioned above.

Tenderers shall refrain from contacting the Customer in any other way.

Tenderers are encouraged to submit all questions as soon as possible. The responsible unit reserves the right to not answer questions submitted later than 5 days before the time limit for receipt of tenders.

The responsible unit will send the questions and answers simultaneously and in anonymous form via e-mail to the invited tenderers.

Evaluation

Bids will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria provided below:

#	Criteria	Weight
1	Portfolio of projects	10%
2	Core team members - relevant experience, skills and competencies	40%
3	Technical approach and methodology, including workplan	30%
4	Financial Offer	20%

The most economically advantageous tender will be identified based on the award criterion “best price-quality ratio”.

The Criteria and Method of Evaluation are described in Appendix 2 of this TOR.