Call: Provision of content support and editing services

Buyer: The European Training Foundation (ETF), Torino

Estimated value excluding VAT: €2.000.000

Deadline for receipt of tenders: 14/11/2025

LOT 1: Content Support Services (budget €1mio)

LOT 2: Technical Editing Services budget €1mio)

Expected start date: November 2025

Expected end date: November 2029

Approximate volume of work:

Indicatively the ETF estimates 450 days of content support per year. For technical editing, the ETF estimates 5,000–6,000 pages (based on 1,500 characters per page, excluding spaces) per year.

This is an indicative estimate, which may vary over the course of the 4 years framework contract.

The objective and expected results of the service are:

LOT 1: Content Support Services

Scope: Provision of creative and professional content services in English (other ETF language outputs might be requested on occasion).

Services include:

• Writing and rewriting of blogs, articles, reports, scripts, speeches

• Preparation of summaries and abstracts

• Creation of social media copy

• Graphic recording from live or recorded discussions

• Speechwriting and coaching for speakers and writers

Roles:

• Senior Content Provider – Full-day and half-day rates

• Junior Content Provider – Full-day and half-day rates

The main language used will be English

LOT 2: Technical Editing Services

Scope: Provision of high-quality technical editing in English and other ETF working languages. Editors will ensure ETF documents are consistent, accessible, and ready for publication, but are not responsible for the technical correctness of the content.

Technical editors are people who edit technical information. Their primary job is to ensure texts are suitable for their target audience. In effect, they are providing a quality control service for ETF materials, but they are not responsible for ensuring their technical accuracy.

Editors will generally be asked to work in Microsoft Word documents and may occasionally be asked to work in Adobe (e.g. InDesign) files or on paper or online. When working with Microsoft Word, editors should use the track changes features.

The categories of work which may be required to produce publishable texts for the ETF can be defined as indicated below.

1. Proofreading

Proofreading is the final check of a text before publication. Editors will check spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, verb tense, and pronouns. They will also ensure consistency with spacing, headers, and formatting. Editors will make no drastic changes to words or sentences.

2. Copy editing

In addition to the proofreading services, copy editing focuses on clarity, correctness, conciseness, completeness, and consistency.

Editors will adjust sentence and paragraph structure, eliminate redundant words, replace repetitive words with synonyms, and substitute weak words, phrases, and sentences with alternatives that are more powerful or more relevant to the subject matter. The original tone should remain intact.

Editors should do a consistency check and a house style check on all texts.

The consistency check entails comparing data in tables with the relevant text, checking text against graphics and their captions and other controls of figures, diagrams, and checking/completing/creating lists of abbreviations. The editor should also look out for any quotations, graphics or illustrations which may need permission from the copyright owner, and will also look out for any other legal problems such as libel and plagiarism. When requested to do a substantive edit, editors should also carry out a thorough check of bibliographies.

The house style check involves ensuring that the text is written in the accepted ETF style. The ETF Guide for Authors (complete revision underway) should be used as a reference (see https://www.etf-gfa.eu).

3. Substantive editing

With this level of editing, major portions or all of a text, if need be, will be rewritten and/or restructured.

In substantive editing (also called developmental editing), the editor rewrites the text with the intent of educating the author on how to better write; the editor should be available to work closely with the author(s) if necessary and/or requested. The text is likely to change substantively. New content may be added if the editor feels arguments made in the original writing lack substance or need more support. Sentences may be restructured. Long paragraphs may be broken into multiple smaller paragraphs that retain clear focus on a single message. New references citations may be added.

The editor considers the text’s concept and intended use, content, organisation, design, and style. The purpose is to make the text functional for its readers, not just to make it correct and consistent.

Substantive editing is almost entirely analysis-based, whether at the whole text level or at the paragraph, sentence, or word level. Decisions require judgement, not just the application of rules.

A substantive edit deals with the overall structure of the text:

* Does it all fit together into a coherent whole?

* Is the order of presentation logical (from the target audience’s point of view)?

* Is all the necessary information included, and unnecessary information deleted?

* Are the retrieval aids (table of contents, internal headings/subheading, index) useful? Do they contain terms that are useful to the target audience?

* For online materials, are the navigation aids logical and useful in context? Can users easily find the links they want?

Editors should do a consistency check and a house style check (see ‘Copy editing’ section above) on all texts.

4. Language comparison

Editors may also be required to compare various language versions of a text and align their contents to the original. This involves checking whether a text which is produced in several languages clearly expresses the true meaning of the source language in all versions. The source language text will generally be English. Arabic, French or Russian originals may occasionally be provided. The target languages will generally be Arabic, French or Russian, and occasionally English. To undertake language comparison editors must have excellent command of the source language.