Provision of services for Development and implementation of a System for Electronic Document Exchange between Institutions signatories of the Agreement on Enhancing Cooperation in the field of crime suppression in Montenegro(UNOPS-MNEMig-2025-S-003)

New clarification added: We have carefully reviewed the RFP documentation and would like to request clarifications on the following points:Question 1. Separate instances for each institutionThe RFP specifies that each signatory institution must have its own dedicated system instance:Ministry of Interior (Police Directorate)Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights (Directorate for Execution of Criminal Sanctions)Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare – Revenue and Customs AdministrationMinistry of Finance and Social Welfare – Cadastre and State Property AdministrationSupreme Court of MontenegroSupreme State Prosecutor's OfficeJudicial CouncilCentral Bank of MontenegroFinancial Intelligence Unit of the Police DirectorateConsidering that each institution has specific processes and integrations, and given the implementation timeline of 9 months, is there a possibility for a phased approach (e.g., one central instance with gradual replication) or prioritization of institutions?Excerpt from the RFP:“The Document Management System with the subsystem for electronic exchange of data and documents (the System) shall consist of multiple instances, each belonging to one Signatory Party. Each instance of the System shall comprise the following components.”Answer 1:Bidder is obliged to implement the Document Management System with the subsystem for electronic exchange of data and documents at all specified instances within the project implementation timeline defined in the Section 9.1 of the Schedule of Requirements. Bidder is free to choose the implementation approach as long as it fits the project implementation timeline and meets requirements set by the Schedule of Requirements.Question 2. Microservices architectureThe RFP states that the architecture must be microservices-based.Given that there are already existing DMS implementations with modular architectures that successfully scale, is microservices architecture strictly mandatory, or could it be considered as recommended, provided that performance and scalability can be demonstrated?Excerpt from the RFP:“The architecture of the System must be microservices-based. All software components of the System must operate on the latest officially released stable versions.”Answer 2: Microservices architecture of the System will not be considered as mandatory but recommended. Question 3. Encrypted index (search over encrypted content)The RFP requires that documents and databases must be encrypted in a way that administrators cannot access the content.At the same time, it requires indexing and search over the content. Would it be acceptable to implement partial encryption of metadata to enable indexing, given that a fully “encrypted index” significantly complicates implementation?Excerpt from the RFP:“All data stored in the database must be encrypted. The database administrator will only have access to encrypted data, while the real content of the data will remain inaccessible. All files stored in the system must be encrypted. The server should not have access to the actual contents of the files.”Answer 3: It is acceptable to implement partial encryption of metadata with the remark that Section 7.5. defines that metadata such as sender and recipient information, time of transmission, subject, etc., shall be visible to administrators; however, the content of messages and files shall remain encrypted.Question 4. Licenses for OS and DBThe RFP states that the vendor must provide all necessary licenses without limitations on duration, number of servers, or capacity.Question 4.1. Does this also apply to operating system and database licenses (e.g., Windows Server, Oracle, MS SQL), or exclusively to the DMS system and any supporting tools?Answer 4.1. This provision does not apply for Operating system licenses because Signatory Parties or MoI (for those institutions that lack the necessary infrastructure) will provide necessary underlying IT infrastructure including operating system for all System components. However, it applies for all software components of the System, meaning that the vendor must provide all necessary licenses without limitations on duration, number of servers, or capacity for all software components of the System including but not limited to database licenses.Question 4.2. We believe that requiring unlimited OS/DB licenses is not realistic and may affect the competitiveness of the bids.Additionally, could there be a situation where an institution insists on a specific type and version of operating system and/or database?Answer 4.2. There could not be a situation where an institution insists on a specific type and version of operating system and/or database.The selected vendor shall not be restricted in terms of the technologies utilised within the System, provided that they are current and widely supported technologies. Bidder with proven experience in developing software applications using technologies currently utilised by the Ministry of Interior for the development and administration of existing solutions such as .NET, C#, DevExpress libraries, and Oracle and Microsoft SQL database management systems will be awarded 2 additional points during technical evaluation as it is stated in the Technical Proposal Evaluation section 1.3.Excerpt from the RFP:“The vendor is required to include, within their proposal, all necessary accompanying software licences essential for the operation of the System in accordance with this Technical Specification. These licences must be free from limitations such as duration, number of application servers, storage capacity, and similar constraints.” 

New amendment added #1: Extension of the deadline for offer submission, the new deadline for offer submission is 16 September 2025, 10:00 UTC

New clarification added: QuestionWe kindly request an extension of the submission deadline by one week until 2025-09-16 10:00 UTC in order to have enough time for preparing the offer after the summer break.Answer:Please note that the deadline for offer submission will be extended, and the new deadline for offer submission will be 16 September 2025, 10:00 UTC

New clarification added: Question:  Regarding the Evaluation criteria point 1.4, we would like to have a clarification for the mentioned Question: We have a Consortium with a local company and according to point 1.4 : Proven experience in working in the Balkan region and Montenegro with the police/judicial/government bodies and the UN: (All joint venture/consortia members combined must meet it).So our question is Should Each member of the Consortium meet this criteria indivudually or will it suffice if any one member has the said criteria ?Answer:As stated in the Schedule of requirements, criteria point 1.4. Proven experience in working in the Balkan region and Montenegro with the police/judicial/government bodies and the UN: (All joint venture/consortia members combined must meet it) means that any of JV/Consortium members can fulfil this criterion, not each member of JV/Consortium.