Öffentliche Ausschreibung

[Text in Deutsch kommt demnächst.]

JDCRP Public Tender WP2: Data Linking and Matching

The JDCRP, a non-profit foundation based in Germany, is creating a digital platform for archival documentation related to the art looted by the Nazis, their collaborators and allies. The platform will allow for cross-searching of documents from different archival sources. The European Union co-funds the two-year project “JDCRP Pilot Project Part II” together with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (the Claims Conference), sponsored by the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (EVZ) and supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF). A second project for the development of a JDCRP Pilot-Minimum Viable Product with co-funding by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) and the Claims Conference.

To achieve these goals, the JDCRP is inviting bids for a web application that supports the creation of Linked Open Data by ingesting data sets and connecting them among each other. In addition to interconnecting datasets, other open data sources such as thesauri and vocabularies must also be used to further enrich the data. The application will make the linked data available to a front-end system that will be tendered separately.  The archival material identified in this project for inclusion on the platform is highly diverse in its format, content, structure, and state of digitization.

JDCRP Pilot Project Part II

As a first step, JDCRP aims to make available and searchable on its platform a set of 6,673 property cards that were generated at the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point; these cards have been scanned but are not yet searchable. Once the contents of the cards are available digitally, the goal of the requested service is to ingest them, together with existing data from databases on the subject such as the ERR Jeu de Paume database, and create connections between the two sets by matching them through a variety of strategies. Other examples of search challenges might be file identifiers that are matched with items by their identifiers. In addition to these original data sources, smaller sections within the platform will be created to make available in-depth research on two art collections and on an educational project that are developed within this project.

JDCRP Pilot Minimum Viable Product

The goal of the second project is to prepare, ingest, and make archival material from multiple sources cross-searchable on a central platform. This is done to create and elaborate the structure, interconnections, and searchability of the platform. These sources may include property cards from other Central Collecting Points, as well as adding new layers of data to the platform, such as scans of photographs that are available at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). In addition, research indexes on, for example, persecuted Jewish artists and collectors, must be ingested as datasets. At this stage, it is furthermore anticipated that the material and data that will be available in the central data platform will be interconnected with the other sections of the overall platform that contain research and educational material.

Financing

This tender includes two sets of activities that are part of two different projects. As these projects are financed by different sources, the JDCRP will require two different bills for the two sets of activities. Apart from this tender, the JDCRP will also publish a tender for the front-end in the near future. At the end of the project, we also request a summary report explaining the challenges and solutions found. The successful bidder is required to begin development as soon as possible. The end date for the development work is set for October 30, 2024, however, the service should be available beyond this time frame. We furthermore expect a successful service provider to adhere to modern software standards and that time for testing and iterative improvement is allocated throughout the duration of the development.

Bidding process

In your bid, please include the following information:

  • Describe how each of the work packages will be approached and which technology will be used.
  • Provide a cost estimate for each service offered that includes a detailed specification as well as the number of persons and/or work hours involved.
  • Outline a time frame and schedule you envision being needed in order to set up the service.
  • Explain how you ensure quality management according to the team´s aims.
  • Describe your company’s track record dealing with similar projects, preferably in cultural heritage, provenance research, and/or art history.
  • Include the individual qualifications of the people who will participate on the project.
  • Estimate the cost of the maintenance and/or other costs expected for the continued availability of the service.

The tender project information is available here, and the full tender package can be requested here: secretary@jdcrp.org.

Bids should be submitted by December 15, 2023, to:

Jonathan Blok, IT / Data Officer: jonathan.blok@jdcrp.org