Objectives

The primary objective is to appoint a specialist service provider to manage the sourcing, acquisition, supply, and maintenance of economic data and intelligence subscriptions for the Department of Economic Development and Tourism over a three-year period. This initiative aims to strengthen evidence-based decision-making, support policy development, enable targeted strategic interventions, and facilitate accurate monitoring of provincial and national economic performance indicators.

Scope of Services

The successful bidder will act as a managed service provider to procure and administer approximately 20 to 40 annual data subscriptions across four core categories:

• Macro-economic Data: Global and domestic economic trends, financial markets, trade flows, policy developments, and socio-economic indicators.
• Thematic Data: Sector-specific datasets targeting priority industries such as tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and retail.
• News & Analysis Platforms: Real-time business, economic, financial, and political news services, including social media and mobile application access.
• Cross-cutting Information: Academic databases, scholarly publications, legal research platforms, and parliamentary/legislative tracking tools.

The provider will coordinate licensing agreements (held exclusively in the Department’s name), manage user access, liaise with external vendors, process invoices, and align payments with departmental procedures. All subscriptions operate on a 12-month cycle within the three-year term, with no automatic renewals.

Technical Requirements

• Demonstrate end-to-end capability to manage the subscription lifecycle, from internal request intake and activation to ongoing access and service continuity.
• Provide robust technical and operational support, ensuring uninterrupted platform access and resolving licensing or authentication queries promptly.
• Maintain a 24-hour response window for service interruptions or technical escalations.
• Submit a structured project proposal outlining workflow integration, risk mitigation, resource deployment, and compliance mechanisms.
• Quote a single, fixed, VAT-inclusive percentage fee applied uniformly across all subscriptions. Variable, exchange-rate-linked, or per-subscription pricing will be rejected.
• Meet a minimum functional evaluation threshold of 70% to qualify for the final price and B-BBEE adjudication phase.

Skills & Experience Requirements

• Proven track record in economic data brokerage, subscription management, and intelligence service delivery.
• Established commercial partnerships with a broad network of domestic and international data vendors.
• Adequately resourced team covering customer support, technical product management, data administration, legal compliance, and financial operations.
• Lead manager must hold post-school qualifications, with preference awarded to degree or postgraduate credentials.
• Documented history of managing South African-owned and internationally led economic data subscriptions over the past three years (2023–2025).
• Valid tax compliance status, Central Supplier Database (CSD) registration, and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) verification documentation.
• Written customer references dated within the last five years confirming comparable service delivery.

Unusual or Complicated Terms

• Subscription Intermediary Model: The provider does not own or host the data but functions as a licensed broker and account manager. They coordinate directly with dozens of external data vendors while ensuring all contracts and licenses remain legally held by the Department.
• Strict Renewal Protocol: Each 12-month subscription cycle requires explicit written approval from the Department. Auto-renewals are prohibited, and the government assumes no liability for unapproved extensions or lapsed access.
• Percentage-Based Pricing Structure: Bidders must submit a single fixed percentage fee applied to all subscriptions rather than itemized costs. This simplifies budget tracking but requires suppliers to accurately calculate margins across varying vendor costs.
• Two-Phase Evaluation Process: Functional proposals are scored first. Only bidders achieving a 70% threshold advance to Phase 3, where price and B-BBEE status determine the final award using an 80/20 preference point system.