Issued by: DEEP Ecosystems
Project: MED‑Hubs – Blue Economy in the Western Mediterranean (EU‑funded)
Submission deadline: 18 December 2025
Submission email: info@deep-ecosystems.com
1. Background
DEEP Ecosystems is implementing the EU‑funded MED‑Hubs project to strengthen the Blue Economy ecosystem in the Western Mediterranean. As part of this initiative, we will expand and professionalize our existing digital infrastructure around StartupHeatmap.com and DEEP‑Ecosystems.com to provide data‑driven insights, community tools and AI‑supported services for innovators and stakeholders in the Blue Economy.
We invite proposals from qualified service providers (individual companies or consortia) for the design, development and maintenance of this integrated digital platform.
2. Scope of Work
The contracted provider(s) will deliver the following main work packages (detailed technical description available from DEEP Ecosystems):
- Server & Web Infrastructure
- Set up and maintain a secure, scalable environment (based on existing servers) for StartupHeatmap.com and DEEP‑Ecosystems.com, including a dedicated Blue Economy section and community platform.
- Refactor and harden the current WordPress‑based setup into fast‑loading, secure user‑facing sites.
- Implement dynamic content loading from a MySQL database and integrate a headless CMS (WordPress) where needed, with strengthened protection against cyberattacks.
2. MySQL Data Integration
- Implement robust connections to a central MySQL database and existing data sources (incl. AWS Lambda and Google Sheets).
- Automatically populate city, accelerator, opportunity and startup search and profile pages with live data.
- Enable ranking, filtering and profile population based on selected indicators, year and basic variables (e.g. country, region, city size), including badges and basic visualizations.
3. Community Platform (Kajabi‑based)
- Build on existing Kajabi tooling to design and configure a Blue Economy community space (forum design, branding, registration/login for Blue Economy community, user profiles and searchable directory).
- Integrate public‑facing community elements into StartupHeatmap.com (e.g. showing relevant user profiles on city pages based on tags).
- Develop a “Community Challenges” feature (challenge creation/joining, tasks with WYSIWYG editor, submissions and approvals, admin dashboard, challenge workspaces/links, challenge lists per user, and public challenge pages).
4. AI Integration
- Integrate an LLM (e.g. OpenAI) to analyse MySQL data and generate dynamic website content, including:
- Prompt‑based search and rankings (cities, accelerators, etc.).
- AI‑driven insights on city and topic profile pages (e.g. relevant Blue Economy startups in a given city).
- Further develop and stabilize the existing AI‑powered chatbot to:
- Be visible as a pop‑up on all DEEP‑Ecosystems.com pages.
- Access the project’s knowledge base, research, contacts and how‑to content.
- Provide feedback on user contributions to Challenges based on website content.
- Offer a full‑screen “dashboard” view with multiple parallel chat threads.
5. MED‑Hubs Visual Identity & Materials
- Co‑develop a coherent MED‑Hubs brand identity, including:
- Project logo, colour palette, image selection (with appropriate licenses), and social media templates.
- Design and deliver 5–10 marketing and merchandising materials (e.g. roll‑up banners, one‑pager flyer, T‑shirts, etc.).
6. UX/UI Design for StartupHeatmap.com (Blue Economy Section)
- Update the existing design to a more professional look & feel and align it with the MED‑Hubs style in the Blue Economy section.
- Produce Figma‑based templates and page designs for:
- Blue Economy landing page.
- Search pages for cities, innovation hubs, opportunities and startups (incl. AI‑assisted search flow).
- Profile pages for cities, innovation hubs and trends, with automated data population from MySQL.
- Neutral landing pages.
- Design intuitive top and footer navigation focused on “Find”, “Connect”, “Publications”, “Get Listed”, “About”, “Imprint” and “Privacy Policy”.
3. Deliverables and Timeframe
The implementation period will be agreed with the selected provider(s). Proposals should include an indicative work plan and timeline, including key milestones for:
- Infrastructure and data integration
- Community platform and AI components
- Design and branding
- Testing, deployment and handover (including documentation and basic training).
4. Proposal Content and Submission
Interested service providers are invited to submit by 15 December 2025 to info@deep-ecosystems.com:
- Outline of the proposed approach (max. 2 pages), covering:
- Understanding of the assignment and proposed technical approach.
- Work plan and key milestones.
- Team composition and relevant experience (references to similar projects, esp. data‑driven platforms, WordPress/headless CMS, Kajabi, AI/LLM integration).
- Financial quotation, including a breakdown by work package and indication of daily rates.
5. Evaluation
The contract will be awarded based on best value for money, taking into account:
- Quality and feasibility of the proposed approach and methodology.
- Relevant experience and capacity of the provider/team.
- Price and overall cost‑effectiveness.
DEEP Ecosystems reserves the right to request clarifications, conduct interviews, or not to award a contract as a result of this call.