Call for Tender No. 2/2026 UX/UI Analysis and User Experience Strategy for the EPOS Platform

EPOS has opened a tender to select a specialised economic operator to perform a UX/UI Analysis and User Experience Strategy services for the EPOS Platform.

The activity is part of a comprehensive strategy to enhance usability, accessibility, and data discovery and offer users of the EPOS Platform a richer and more satisfying user experience. The successful tenderer will be responsible of analysing user needs, platform functionalities, and best practices from leading scientific data platforms, perform a UX/UI assessment, and develop recommendations to improve the EPOS platform’s information architecture, navigation model, and user interaction framework. The work will translate these findings into practical UI/UX recommendations, prioritised according to user impact and technical feasibility, and provide a phased implementation roadmap to support the future evolution of the platform.

This tender procedure is conducted in accordance with the EPOS ERIC Procurement Rules and adheres to the principles of transparency, adequate publicity, non-discrimination, equal treatment, mutual recognition, and proportionality.

The contract shall enter into force on the date of signature, expected to occur no later than September 30th 2026, and shall remain valid for a period of six (6) months. The maximum contract value is EUR 20,000 (twenty thousand euros).

All qualified operators interested in participating in the tender must send their bid no later than 31 July 2026, via post or registered courier to EPOS ERIC – Via di Vigna Murata 605 – 00143 Rome. The outer envelope shall be sealed and signed across the flaps, clearly indicate the tenderer, and bear the following wording: "Call for Tender No. 2/2026". All documents shall be drafted in English and signed by the legal representative of the tenderer or by a duly authorised representative.

Tenderers shall be responsible for ensuring that their tender is received by EPOS ERIC before the submission deadline. Only the date and time of receipt recorded by EPOS ERIC shall be considered valid. Tenders received after the deadline shall not be considered and shall be excluded from the procurement procedure. EPOS ERIC reserves the right to extend the deadline for the submission of tenders.

Please read carefully the Call for Tender and all the annexes to learn more about the eligibility criteria, participation and selection procedures, and the detailed technical specification of the required service.

Call for Tender No. 2/2026 UX/UI Analysis and User Experience Strategy for the EPOS Platform

1. General Information The European Plate Observing System (EPOS) is the European Research Infrastructure for solid Earth science operated by the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (EPOS ERIC). EPOS integrates leading national organizations dedicated to monitoring and investigating the dynamic and complex Earth system. Through a single, sustainable Platform, it provides access to data, data products, software, services and facilities. EPOS ERIC is responsible for the operation of the Research Infrastructure and for coordinating the implementation and management of the EPOS Integrated Core Services (ICS), which constitute the e-infrastructure of EPOS and enable interdisciplinary access to solid Earth science resources across Europe.

2. Tendering Information

2.1 Purpose EPOS ERIC intends to conclude a service contract with a specialised economic operator for the provision of UX/UI Analysis and User Experience Strategy services for the EPOS Platform (https://www.ics-c.epos- eu.org/). This procurement is conducted in accordance with the EPOS ERIC Procurement Rules and in compliance with the principles of transparency, appropriate publicity, non-discrimination, equal treatment, mutual recognition, and proportionality. This Call for Tender provides a detailed description of the required services and sets out the procedures governing participation in the tendering process.

2.2 Subject of the contract The successful tenderer shall be responsible for carrying out a UX/UI Analysis and formulating a User Experience Strategy for the EPOS Platform. The requirements set out in this document, in the Technical Specifications (Annex A), and in the accompanying documentation constitute minimum mandatory requirements and are not subject to derogation; they may only be exceeded or enhanced by the tenderer.

2.3 Duration and maximum volume of the contract The contract shall enter into force on the date of signature, expected to occur no later than September 30th 2026, and shall remain valid for a period of six (6) months. The maximum contract value is EUR 20,000 (twenty thousand euros). This amount shall cover the remuneration and all expenses related to the services provided under the contract. No revisions of the contract price shall be permitted, except in the event of a substantial modification to the scope of the services, subject to the prior written agreement of the Parties. Costs related to the preparation and submission of tenders, including the provision of information and documentation requested by EPOS ERIC during the evaluation process, shall be borne by the tenderers and shall not be reimbursed. The quoted price shall include all remuneration, fees, and costs associated with meetings, travel, accommodation, general and indirect costs, and administrative overheads. The quotation must be exclusive of all duties, taxes, other charges (including social security and welfare contributions), and any additional costs incurred during the execution of the activities.

2.4 Methods of execution The Contractor shall perform the activities covered by this contract with due professional care, at its own responsibility and expense, and in accordance with the provisions of this Call for Tender, the Technical Specifications (Annex A), and any related annexes. Where compatible with the requirements of the contract and beneficial to EPOS ERIC, EPOS ERIC may take into account the proposal submitted during the tender process. At the commencement of the contract, the Contractor shall convene a kick-off meeting with the EPOS ERIC Executive Coordination Office to agree on a roadmap for all activities, in accordance with the provisions of the tender documents and the submitted proposal. The Parties may, at any time, agree in writing to specific modifications to the execution of the contractual activities described above, at no additional cost to EPOS ERIC. The Contractor shall comply with any reasonable instructions issued by EPOS ERIC concerning the execution of the contractual activities and shall promptly inform EPOS ERIC of any circumstances that may affect the timely or proper performance of the contract. Throughout the duration of the contract, the Contractor shall provide EPOS ERIC with any information, clarifications, data, and documentation reasonably required for the monitoring and assessment of the contractual activities. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations relevant to the performance of the contract. Any costs arising from such compliance shall be deemed included in the contract price. Considering the foregoing, the Contractor shall indemnify and hold harmless the EPOS ERIC from any consequences arising from the Contractor's failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations relevant to the performance of the contract, including any regulations issued during the term of the contract. In performing the contract, the Contractor consents to comply with all applicable technical, health, hygiene, and safety regulations presently in force, as well as those that may be issued during the term of the contract. Any additional costs resulting from the necessity to comply with such regulations, even if they come into effect after the contract is signed, shall be borne solely by the Contractor and shall be deemed fully covered by the agreed-upon contract price. Accordingly, the Contractor shall not claim additional compensation and shall assume all related risks. Considering the foregoing, the Contractor expressly agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Contracting Authority from any consequences arising from the Contractor's failure to comply with applicable technical, safety, hygiene, and health regulations, including any regulations issued during the term of the contract.

2.5 Proprietary Rights and Intellectual Property All deliverables, analyses, strategies, designs, and other outputs produced by the Contractor under this Contract shall become the exclusive property of EPOS ERIC. By participating in this tender process, the tenderer expressly acknowledges and agrees to the unconditional assignment and transfer to EPOS ERIC of all intellectual property rights, economic exploitation rights, and copyrights relating to the materials produced, free of any third-party claims or encumbrances. EPOS ERIC reserves the unrestricted right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, distribute and otherwise exploit the outputs worldwide for any purpose related to its activities, including internal developments, system implementations, specifications for the launching of future selective procedures and public calls for tenders. No additional compensation, fees, or royalties shall be claimed by the Contractor for such use. To the extent that the deliverables incorporate any pre-existing intellectual property owned by the Contractor or third parties ("Background IP"), the Contractor hereby grants EPOS ERIC a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, modify, and sublicense such Background IP as part of the deliverables. The Contractor agrees not to invoke any moral rights to prevent, restrict, or modify the subsequent use, alteration, or publication of the deliverables by EPOS ERIC.

2.6 Compliance with applicable law The Contractor shall comply throughout the procurement procedure and the duration of the contract with all applicable environmental, social, labour, and tax obligations established by European Union law, Italian law, applicable collective agreements, and relevant international environmental, social security, and labour conventions. If requested, the Contractor shall provide proof of compliance concerning fiscal matters.

2.7 Subcontracting The contract shall not be subcontracted for any activities or portions thereof.

3. Participation Requirements Any economic operator specialised in the services covered by this Call for Tender may participate in the procurement procedure, provided that, at the time of submitting the offer, it meets the requirements set out below:

3.1 Financial and economic capacity a) Registration in the Register of Companies or other relevant professional or commercial registers for activities related to the services covered by this Call for Tender. b) A minimum annual turnover of EUR 150,000 (one hundred and fifty thousand euros) in each of the last three completed financial years. Tenderers shall also provide a list of contracts relating to services similar to those covered by this Call for Tender, performed during the previous three financial years, including for each contract: the value of the contract (at least EUR 60,000.00 (sixty thousand euros) per year); the date or duration of the contract; the type of client (public or private sector). If a tenderer cannot provide one or more of the above documents for any exceptional reason deemed justified by EPOS ERIC, it may demonstrate its financial and economic capacity through any other document considered appropriate by EPOS ERIC. In such cases, EPOS ERIC shall be informed of the reason why the required document(s) cannot be provided, together with the corresponding justification. EPOS ERIC reserves the right to request any additional documentation necessary to verify the financial and economic capacity of the tenderer.

3.2 Technical and professional capacity Tenderers shall demonstrate that they possess the technical and professional capacity necessary to perform the services covered by this Call for Tender. In particular, tenderers shall: - demonstrate experience in the provision of services comparable to those covered by this procurement procedure; - demonstrate the ability to prepare reports in English. - ensure that their standards for all security matters, including but not limited to physical security, data security, and malware protection, comply with the applicable best practices and any relevant legislation or codes of practice to which they are subject. To demonstrate their technical and professional capacity, tenderers shall submit the curriculum vitae of at least two members of the proposed service team. The CVs shall include information on professional experience, qualifications, and language skills relevant to the performance of the contract.

4. Submission of Tenders Failure to comply with the requirements of this Section may result in the exclusion of the tender from the procurement procedure. Tenderers shall submit their tender in a sealed envelope by post or courier service. The envelope shall be addressed to: EPOS ERIC Via di Vigna Murata 605 – 00143 Rome The envelope must be received by EPOS ERIC no later than 31 July 2026. EPOS ERIC reserves the right to extend the deadline for the submission of tenders. The outer envelope shall be sealed and signed across the flaps, clearly indicate the tenderer, and bear the following wording: "Call for Tender No. 2/2026." The outer envelope shall contain the following three separate sealed envelopes: 1. Envelope A: Administrative Documentation:

• Declaration on Honour (Annex 1);
• Tender Submission Form (Annex 2);
• evidence of registration in the Register of Companies or other professional or commercial registers;
• evidence of compliance with the turnover requirements referred to in Section 3.1;
• list of contracts demonstrating relevant experience in services comparable to those covered by this Call for Tender. 2. Envelope B: Technical Offer:
• a technical proposal describing the methodology, activities, deliverables, and timeline for all services specified in Annex A.
• a description of any additional services, improvements, or enhancements offered at no additional cost to EPOS ERIC;
• company portfolio and the CVs of at least two experts proposed for the provision of the services. During the evaluation process, EPOS ERIC may request electronic copies of the documentation in envelopes A and B, to be sent via email. 3. Envelope C: Economic Offer:
• the total economic offer shall be expressed in euros, VAT excluded, and specify the percentage of the applied discount. All documents shall be drafted in English and signed by the legal representative of the tenderer or by a duly authorised representative. Tenderers shall be responsible for ensuring that their tender is received by EPOS ERIC before the submission deadline. Only the date and time of receipt recorded by EPOS ERIC shall be considered valid. Tenders received after the deadline shall not be considered and shall be excluded from the procurement procedure. EPOS ERIC shall not be responsible for postal delays, courier delays, or any other circumstances resulting in late delivery.

5. Award Evaluation The tender shall be awarded on the basis of the best value-for-money criterion, with a maximum of 80 points allocated to the Technical Offer and 20 points to the Economic Offer, for a total of 100 points. An Evaluation Committee appointed by EPOS ERIC shall assess the tenders and establish the final ranking in accordance with the award criteria and maximum scores indicated in the table below. The Evaluation Committee shall exercise its sole and independent judgment in assessing the tenders. TECHNICAL OFFER Maximum score available (80/100) Relevance and quality of the three most significant similar projects carried out in the field of UX-UI analysis and strategy 10 Team qualifications, based on the quality of proven experience, in relation to the service to be delivered 30 Methodology and implementation approach - UX/UI Analysis and User Experience Strategy for the EPOS Platform including time schedule 30 Complimentary enhancements value-added ICT improvements at no additional cost A minimum score of 50 points out of 80 shall be required in the Technical Offer evaluation. Tenders failing to reach this threshold shall be excluded from further evaluation, and their Economic Offers shall not be considered. ECONOMIC OFFER Maximum score available (20/100) Economic Offer 20 Following the evaluation of the Technical and Economic Offers, tenders shall be ranked using the formula set out below in order to identify the tender offering the best value for money. Score for tender X = Total technical score + [(cheapest price / economic offer of the tender X) * 20] In Italy, this transaction is exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) pursuant to Article 72, paragraph 1, letter f) of DPR 633/72, as it is carried out on behalf of EPOS ERIC, an international organisation. All tenderers shall receive confirmation of receipt of their tender and shall be informed by email of the outcome of the evaluation procedure within two weeks following its conclusion. Tenderers are therefore requested to provide a valid email address and to monitor it regularly. EPOS ERIC reserves the right to terminate the procurement procedure at any stage, or not to award the contract, without incurring any liability towards the tenderers. No contractual or legal obligation shall arise between EPOS ERIC and any tenderer unless and until a written contract has been duly signed by EPOS ERIC and the successful tenderer.

6. Completeness and Accuracy of Tenders Tenders shall be clear, concise, complete, and fully responsive to the requirements set out in this Call for Tender. Tenderers are strongly advised to verify the completeness and accuracy of their submissions before the submission deadline, paying particular attention to clerical errors, omissions, and inconsistencies. No modifications to a tender shall be permitted after the submission deadline, except where EPOS ERIC requests clarifications or supplementary information in accordance with the procurement procedure. EPOS ERIC reserves the right to exclude tenders that are incomplete, ambiguous, or fail to provide sufficient information for a proper evaluation. Tenderers are encouraged to submit only information that is relevant to the requirements of this Call for Tender. The evaluation shall be based exclusively on the information submitted by tenderers before the submission deadline.

7. Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest The tenderers agree not to use, disclose, or communicate to any third party any confidential information relating to EPOS ERIC, whether before, during, or after the performance of the service contract. This obligation shall remain in force indefinitely following the termination or completion of the contract. To ensure the independence and impartiality of the contractual relationships, the successful tenderer shall sign a declaration confirming the absence of any conflict of interest in relation to the activities to be performed and shall promptly notify EPOS ERIC of any circumstances that may give rise to a conflict of interest during the execution of the contract.

8. Terms and Conditions Notice is hereby given to all participants that the execution of the contract and the launch of services are scheduled to occur no later than October 1, 2026. This Call for Tender is not legally binding on EPOS ERIC. No contractual obligations shall arise until a written contract has been signed by both EPOS ERIC and the successful tenderer. EPOS ERIC reserves the right to cancel the procurement procedure at any stage prior to the signature of the contract, without any entitlement to compensation for tenderers. Any such decision must be duly justified and communicated to the tenderers concerned. EPOS ERIC also reserves the right to reject any proposals, invite new tenderers, discontinue the procurement procedure, or amend this Call for Tender at any time prior to the execution of the contract. EPOS ERIC reserves the right to waive minor formal irregularities in the tender procedure, provided that this does not affect the principles of equal treatment and fair competition. EPOS ERIC shall not be liable for any compensation, costs, damages, or losses incurred by the tenderers whose proposals are not selected or ranked, nor in the event that EPOS ERIC decides not to award the contract. By submitting a tender, the Tenderer acknowledges and accepts all terms and conditions set out in this Call for Tender. The Tenderer authorises EPOS ERIC to reproduce and distribute the submitted proposal internally for evaluation and procurement management, and confirms that such use does not infringe any third-party rights. Furthermore, the Tenderer shall not bring any claims or legal actions against EPOS ERIC based on misunderstandings regarding the provided information or due to EPOS ERIC’s omission or failure to supply relevant information related to this Call for Tender. The contractual agreement for the provision of the services shall be formalised through the signature of a written contract between the Parties. The contract shall set out the terms and conditions governing the services, including delivery schedules, invoicing procedures, payment arrangements, banking details, and termination provisions.

9. Privacy Statement Once EPOS ERIC has received and opened the tender, it becomes the property of EPOS ERIC and shall be treated as confidential. Where the processing of the response to this Call for Tender involves the collection and handling of personal data, such as names, addresses, and CVs, such data shall be processed in accordance with Article 13 of REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regards to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC, General Data Protection Regulation. EPOS ERIC shall process personal data with due care and respect. Tenderers may contact EPOS ERIC at any time to exercise their rights regarding the storage and use of their personal data by emailing epos-eric@pec.it. For more information about EPOS ERIC’s privacy practices, please refer to the EPOS Privacy Statement available on the EPOS website (www.epos-ip.org/content/privacy-policy-summary). Unless otherwise indicated, the responses to the questions and any personal data requested are necessary to evaluate the tender in accordance with the specifications of this Call for Tender. Such data shall be processed solely by EPOS ERIC for the purposes of the procurement procedure.

10. Contact Person All information and inquiries pertaining to this Call for Tender should be directed to the EPOS ERIC Administration Unit, specifically to Diana Piras (diana.piras@epos-eric.eu). All requests for clarification concerning the procurement documents shall be submitted exclusively in English. EPOS ERIC may respond to questions or requests for information submitted by the tenderers; however, it shall not be obliged to communicate such responses or information to all other tenderers.

11. Contracting Organisation EPOS ERIC - Via di Vigna Murata n. 605, 00143 Rome (Italy) FISCAL CODE 96409510581 - VAT NUMBER IT15152381008 www.epos-eu.org ANNEXES: - Declaration of Honour (Annex 1); - Tender Submission Form (Annex 2); - Technical Specifications (Annex A).