Request for Tenders for the provision of a GDPR compliant CAPTCHA Service for Census 2027
Value
€120k
Deadline
24 Sep
24 Sep 2025
Value
€120k
Deadline
24 Sep
GDPR compliant CAPTCHA service for Census 2027 required by Central Statistics Office
GDPR compliant CAPTCHA service for Census 2027 required by Central Statistics Office
Bidder profile
Firms with experience in providing secure software solutions, particularly in compliance with GDPR regulations, are encouraged to apply.
Risks & flags
- GDPR compliance
- Data security
- Technical complexity
- Public sector procurement challenges
Briefing
AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.
1. At a glance
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Buyer | Central Statistics Office |
| Title | Request for Tenders for the provision of a GDPR compliant CAPTCHA Service for Census 2027 |
| CPV / category | services |
| Estimated value | 120000.00 |
| Per-year (if multi-year) | not stated |
| Procedure type | not stated |
| Lots | not stated |
| Location | Ireland |
| Contract length | 3 months |
| Submission deadline | 2025-09-24T11:00:00+00:00 |
| Go-live / start | not stated |
2. Scope of Work
Central Statistics Office ran this procurement for “Request for Tenders for the provision of a GDPR compliant CAPTCHA Service for Census 2027” as an operational contract requiring implementation and sustained service execution. The extracted pack showed qualification-stage material with references to later ITT technical depth; practical activity therefore centred on building, integrating, and operating the specified service stack with compliant reporting and handover obligations where stated. Constituent activities and named work elements in the supplied extracts:
- Title: Request for Tenders for the provision of a GDPR compliant CAPTCHA Service for Census 2027
- ority estimates that the expenditure on the Services to be covered by the proposed Services Contract may amount to some €80,000 - €120,000 (excl
- The proposed Solution must only utilise the minimum amount of data that is necessary to deliver the CAPTCHA service
- 4 The proposed Solution must only utilise the minimum amount of data that is necessary to deliver the CAPTCHA service
- rer shall be required to supply its Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number to facilitate online verification of their tax status by
- tion (the “Services Contract”) will be issued for a term of 24 months (2 years) (“the Term”)
- for the provision of a GDPR compliant CAPTCHA Service for Census 2027
- Prior to and as a condition of award of any Services Contract, the successful Tenderer shall be required to designate a single entity who will carry overall responsibility for the Services Contract (
- Prior to and as a condition of award of any Services Contract, the successful Tenderer shall be required to designate a single entity who will carry overall responsibility for the Services Contract (the “Prime Contractor”), irrespective of whether or not tasks are to be performed by a subcontractor or other consortium member (the “Subcontractor”).
- No publicity regarding this Competition or any Services Contract pursuant to this Competition is permitted unless and until the Contracting Authority has given its prior written consent to the relevant communication.
- The terms “Registrable Interest” and “Relative” shall be interpreted as per Section 2 of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001, copies of which are available at www.irishstatutebook.ie. The Contracting Authority will, at its absolute discretion, decide on the appropriate course of action, which may in appropriate circumstances include eliminating a Tenderer from this Competition or terminating any Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer.
- [Final CAPTCHA RFT.docx] ing Authority will, at its absolute discretion, decide on the appropriate course of action, which may in appropriate circumstances include eliminating a Tenderer from this Competition or terminating any Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer. Non-binding monetary references in the source were treated as context only and were not used as qualification thresholds.
3. Background & buyer context
The buyer context reflected a formal Irish public-procurement route, with pre-qualification used to control entry into the tender stage.
- A1. Background & Contextual Information
- The proposed Solution must effectively distinguish between human users and automated attacks. The verification process must work in the background to provide an invisible/frictionless verification of user signals, behaviour and/or input. The CAPTCHA verification check must only be visible to users where suspicious activity is detected (i.e. it must have high pass rates for legitimate users).
- Tenderers must ensure that their proposed Solution is constantly updated, with an effective, robust vulnerability management process and programme in place to identify and gather threat intelligence on
- Tenderers must ensure that their proposed Solution is constantly updated, with an effective, robust vulnerability management process and programme in place to identify and gather threat intelligence on a continuous basis to mitigate against evolving threats.
4. Eligibility & selection criteria
- Turnover requirement — not specified for this tender
- Insurance — not specified for this tender
- Certifications — not specified for this tender
- Past experience — not specified for this tender
- Personnel — not specified for this tender
- Geographic / facility constraints — not specified for this tender
5. Award criteria & scoring
| Criterion | Weight (%) | Sub-criteria | Pass/fail threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| A minimum score of 60% is required for each Sub-Criterion and Sub-Sub Criteria. | 60% | not stated | not stated |
| [Final CAPTCHA RFT.docx] score of 60% is required for each Sub-Criterion and Sub | 60% | not stated | not stated |
| The Tender that proposes the lowest Total Overall Cost will receive 100% of the | 100% | not stated | not stated |
| The Tender that proposes the lowest Unit Cost per Additional Verification check | 100% | not stated | not stated |
| The Tender that proposes the lowest Cost per Consulting/Customisation Day will r | 100% | not stated | not stated |
| The documents indicated a staged process (qualification, then tender). Any explicit MEAT split is captured above where a numeric line was visible; otherwise it remained not specified in the provided text extract. |
6. Submission requirements
- Method statement / response document (template/page limits) — not specified in extract.
- CVs (page count, named roles) — not specified in extract.
- Pricing schedule (format/template) — expected at ITT stage.
- Case studies (number/value range) — client references/comparable project evidence was referenced.
- Declarations (ESPD/Bona Fides/Tax/COI) — ESPD/declaration/statement-of-confirmation language was present.
- Mandatory site visit — not specified in extract.
- Submission portal and formatting — eTenders portal and PDF electronic copies were referenced. Submission-related source lines:
- Appendix 3A: Schedule C – Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions (valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three years preceding the declaration)
- 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
- For reporting of foreign financial contributions which are of a value between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
- Appendix 3A: Schedule D – Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions (valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three years preceding the declaration)
- 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
- For reporting of foreign financial contributions which are of a value between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration, to include all non-notif
7. Key dates & process
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| RFT issued | not specified |
| Clarification deadline | not specified |
| Mandatory site visit | not specified |
| Tender deadline (date + time) | 2025-09-24T11:00:00+00:00 |
| Expected award | not specified |
| Contract start | not specified |
| Go-live / mobilisation | not stated |
| Date surfaced in documents | 2025-09-24T11:00:00+00:00 |
| Date surfaced in documents | Census 2027 |
| Date surfaced in documents | September 2025 |
| Date surfaced in documents | Acts 1995 |
8. Contract terms that matter
Contract duration in the extract: 3 months. Payment cycle, SLA/KPI schedule, and penalty regime were not fully disclosed in the snippets unless listed below.
- VERIFIED PHRASES (deterministic regex extract from the documents — treat as authoritative for numerical claims)
- Example: Total Overall Cost equals €12,000, broken down into 8 quarterly payments of €1,500 each
- 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
- 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
- agree a termination date with the CSO, which must be a minimum of 3 months from the date of receipt of the notice to terminate
- a termination date with the CSO, which must be a minimum of 3 months from the date of receipt of the notice
- tion (the “Services Contract”) will be issued for a term of 24 months (2 years) (“the Term”)
- e right to extend the Term for a period or periods of up to 12 months with a maximum of one such extension or
9. Risks, red flags & unusuals
- Numeric qualification gates were only partially visible, so eligibility certainty required full pack review.
- The two-step process (PQQ then ITT) shifted effort to compliance evidence early, with competitive scoring detail potentially deferred.
- Technical and contractual granularity appeared ITT-dependent, increasing ambiguity at qualification stage for non-incumbent bidders.
10. SME fit assessment
This competition looked most accessible to firms with established public-sector tender capability, documented financial capacity, and direct operational experience in the relevant service category.
- Credible bidder profile — specialist operator with compliant procurement governance and evidencable experience.
- Consortium / sub-contracting — allowed or addressed in the extracts (Appendix references and reliance provisions).
- Indicative bid-prep effort — 6 to 12 working days for evidence collation, form completion, and review cycles at PQQ level.
- Pwin signal — strongest for bidders with reusable qualification artefacts, comparable references, and low-friction mobilisation capability.
11. Where to dig deeper
- Source RFT/PQQ filenames: Final CAPTCHA RFT.docx, Appendix 3A: Schedule C – Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions, Appendix 3A: Schedule D – Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions.
- eTenders CFT / notice reference: not specified in extract.
- Clarification contact / portal: eTenders message portal (email not surfaced in extract).
- Key attachments to prioritise: RFT.docx] Request for Tenders dated, RFT Requirements, RFT. ALL TENDERERS MUST RETURN, with their Tender, a scanned signed copy of the Ten.
This tender has been awarded
- Scoria Labs GmbH · 12 Dec 2025
Can you bid?
Required certifications
- ISO 27001
Minimum turnover
€100,000
Scoring
Cost Effectiveness
Lots (1)
Provision of CAPTCHA services for the CSO's digital systems.
Documents (2)
Final CAPTCHA RFT.docx
266.2 KB · RFT / Invitation to Tender
Final CAPTCHA Response Document .docx
123.4 KB · Tender Response Template
Original notice text
The Central Statistics Office seeks tenders for a GDPR compliant CAPTCHA service to ensure secure user verification for Census 2027, focusing on minimal data usage and robust security measures.
AI analysis updated 4 months ago
Value
€120k
Deadline
24 Sep
Location
Services to be provided across Ireland for the Census 2027.
Procedure
Open
Clarification
17 Sep 2025
eTenders ID
6321930
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