Call: Publications typesetting, editing at various levels, copyediting, proofreading and copy preparation services

Buyer: European Investment Bank, Luxembourg

Estimated total value excluding VAT: €1.500.000 / duration: 4 years

Deadline for receipt of tenders: 23/06/2026

EXPECTED SERVICES:

The services requested are fixed fee services for recurring or standardized tasks for lower-complexity work such as:

1. Creation of professional PowerPoint or equivalent format templates tailored to the Bank’s branding and communication needs – prices established on a certain number of pages or other variables.

2. Basic typesetting services for publications, transitioning from “cover-only” formats to fully designed layouts.

3. Other standardized creative services, such as resizing graphics, formatting reports, or creating branded collateral. Terms of Reference

A detailed list of the requested services is provided below.

The Bank expects the deliverables to be provided by staff demonstrating:

               Solid organisational skills and ability to work under pressure;

               An understanding of the purpose of communication;

               An understanding of the working environment, especially the banking sector and international organisations;

               A customer-oriented approach.

The EIB will request the following profiles by the Service Provider:

1. One Senior Account manager (responsible for overseeing the entire account/ Project manager (responsible for overseeing each individual project assignment) to work off-site from the EIB premises in Luxembourg, managing an off-site team of consultants.

Account Manager:

The Service Provider will be represented by an Account manager to serve as the primary strategic liaison between EIB employees and his service staff in matters such as pricing, staff allocation and replacement, and to respond to any escalations or disagreements between the Service Provider and the EIB. The Account Manager aims to understand the EIB’s business needs and objectives and to align solutions to help us achieve our goals.

This profile will be a dedicated Account manager for the EIB, working from the Service Provider’s premises and available on EIB work hours (9:00am-6:00pm).

After-hours services: the Service Provider will ensure the availability of a Project Manager (see below) also in the hours 8:00-9:00am and 6:00pm-9:00pm in case of emergencies or rush projects.

2. Project Manager:

The Service Provider will be represented by a Project Manager for each publication Assignment. The Project Manager will be the primary point of contact with EIB employees when communicating about specific individual Assignments. The Service Provider will assess and allocate the appropriate personnel resources (e.g. Account Manager, Project Manager, Senior Editor, Editor, etc.) to perform each given task.

The Account Manager and Project Manager may be the same person or the two roles can be performed by two persons.

3. Senior Editors (minimum of 3)

4. Editors (minimum of 2)

Requested services:

1. Copyediting services

implementing grammar and syntax correction;

               identifying and correcting errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure;

               ensuring proper word usage and clarity as well as consistency and style; enforcing consistency in terminology, formatting, and tone throughout the document; applying relevant style guides (e.g., EIB Style Guide) as required;

               factchecking; verifying factual accuracy of names, dates, references, and other details where necessary;

               enhancing sentence structure and paragraph organisation for improved readability;

               eliminating ambiguity and redundancy; controlling formatting;

               ensuring the implementation of standardised headings, lists, tables, and citations according to EIB guidelines.

2. Developmental editing services

These services include:

               a structural analysis of the content and if appropriate, its reorganisation;

               performing an evaluation the logical flow and overall structure of the content;

               recommending or implementing major changes in content organisation, chapter order, or section arrangement;

               assessing the completeness, relevance, and depth of information; identifying gaps, redundancies, or inconsistencies in arguments, narrative, or data presentation;

               providing advice as regards the expansion, reduction or refocusing of content sections in order to enhance clarity and engagement; ensuring that central themes, messages, or arguments are clearly articulated and consistently developed;

               helping refine the author’s voice, tone, and intended audience alignment; providing detailed, constructive feedback to authors, often through annotated manuscripts and editorial letters;

               engaging in ongoing dialogue with content stakeholders to support the author’s vision while enhancing the work’s coherence and effectiveness.

3. Proofreading services

These services include:

               error detection and correction (identifying and correcting typographical errors such as misspellings and misplaced punctuation;

               including the correction of minor grammatical mistakes and inconsistencies;

               formatting consistency, thus ensuring uniformity in font usage, spacing, indentation, and alignment and verifying that headings, lists, tables, and other elements conform to specified formatting guidelines;

               performing a final quality check, ensuring that page numbers, footnotes, endnotes, and references are correct;

               checking for missing or duplicated text and ensuring that all content is present and correctly ordered.

4. Typesetting services Terms of Reference

These services include:

               Text Layout and Composition;

               Organising text into a coherent, visually appealing structure and balancing white space, margins, and alignment;

               Applying appropriate font choices, sizes, and styles for headings, subheadings, body text, and captions;

               Integration of Visual Elements;

               Incorporating images, tables, charts, and graphics, ensuring correct placement and alignment relative to the text;

               Managing figure captions, callouts, and cross-references for clarity and consistency.

               Formatting for Publication;

               Adhering to specific formatting guidelines or style sheets (e.g. EIB Style Guide);

               Preparing files in industry-standard formats (e.g., PDF, EPUB, print-ready files) suitable for various publishing platforms.

5. Quality Assurance

               Conducting thorough checks for typographical consistency, page breaks, widow/orphan control, and overall visual harmony.

               Ensuring accessibility standards are met, such as appropriate font sizes and contrast ratios for digital formats.

For the avoidance of doubt, quality checks, as described above, shall be carried out prior to the submission of deliverables to the Bank and shall be deemed to be included in the Service Provider’s prices/rates.

6. Basic graphic design / illustration services

These services involve the creation and arrangement of visual elements to communicate information, enhance aesthetics, and support the objectives of a publication or project. These services focus on foundational visual communication needs, providing essential graphics and illustrations that complement and clarify written content. This includes visual layout and composition, the creation of graphics and image editing and optimisation.

7. Preparation of Power Point and Word presentations using templates provided by the EIB

The Service Provider will provide pricing for standard services based on a per slide basis

Number of estimated projects:

The EIB generates the following amounts per year, according to the following product types;

               Publications (including books, annual reports, brochures, product catalogues and other reports); Circa 200 per year.

               Document (re)structuring (including PowerPoints, MS Word documents); Circa 275 per year.

Promotional items and merchandise, event materials; digital banners, newsletters and social media visuals; Circa 225 per year.

               Pre-printing production (including posters, leaflets, QR code cards, signage, stickers); Circa 95 per year

               Visual identity and branding, infographics and data visualisation: Circa 55 per year.

               Animation and video: Circa 10 per year.

BASIC (MANDATORY) REQUIREMENTS:

Criterion T1: Relevant experience

The Tenderer must demonstrate experience of performing 3 contracts, each of similar scope, scale and complexity and completed within the last 3 years preceding the deadline for submission of tenders. The minimum value for each of the contract references is €200.000.

Criterion F1: Turnover (Pass/Fail Requirement):

The Tenderers must have in at least two of the past three financial years for which accounts have been closed and final audited figures are available, an annual overall turnover of at least €300.000.

***  The Tenderer must demonstrate the availability of the key human resources meeting all the requirements mentioned for each of the profiles required:  

1 Account manager / Project manager

3 Senior Editors

2 Editors