Request for Proposal (RFP) for a firm to ‘Develop a Learning Management System for the Inland R[...]

Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy; Lahore; On-site; PKR 350,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

A governmental agency based in Lahore seeks experienced firms to develop a secure and user-friendly Learning Management System. The selected firm will focus on enhancing training programs for public-sector officials. Candidates should have proven experience in enterprise LMS development and a strong understanding of compliance with government regulations and security standards.

Qualifications

• Legally incorporated for at least five years.
• Experience delivering enterprise LMS for public-sector environments.
• Integration skills for LTI v1.3 and SAML 2.0.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy a secure, scalable, and user-friendly Learning Management System.
• Enable robust progress tracking and assessments.
• Support blended learning and integrate with existing systems.

Job description

Overview

Request for Proposal (RFP) for a firm to ‘Develop a Learning Management System for the Inland Revenue Service Academy’.

Proposal Submission Deadline: 21 October 2025. Proposals must be submitted by 21.10.2025. The assignment title is: Request for Proposal (RFP) for a firm to ‘Develop a Learning Management System for the IRS Academy’. The method of selection is Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS). Financial Proposal to be submitted with Technical Proposal. Soft copies to be sent to [e-mail].

1. Brief overview

Revenue Mobilisation, Investment and Trade (REMIT) programme is a nine-year (2019–28) technical assistance programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), United Kingdom to support Pakistan in implementing strategic reforms in economic development, trade, investment and revenue mobilisation. The REMIT programme aims to strengthen macroeconomic stability and growth, supporting tax reform and broader economic objectives. REMIT collaborates with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to modernise training programs at the IRS Academy by developing a centralised Learning Management System (LMS) to standardise curricula, track trainee competencies, and scale professional development for CSS inductees and in-service officials.

The assignment focuses on modernising training programs at FBR's IRS Academy through an LMS to support the Government of Pakistan’s reform goals.

2. Objectives of the Assignment

The objectives are to:

• Develop and deploy a secure, scalable, and user-friendly LMS for the IRS Academy; standardise curricula and resources to create a single source of truth with version control.
• Enable robust progress tracking, assessments, certifications, and analytics dashboards.
• Support blended learning (in-person + online), micro-learning, and mobile access.
• Integrate with FBR HRIS or HRM System and other existing FBR/PRAL systems where required.
• Ensure accessibility and content reusability.
• Establish governance, roles, and processes for sustainable operations and continuous improvement.

The LMS shall be a modern, standards-compliant platform (SCORM/xAPI/LTI 1.3) delivering role-based learning paths, secure assessments with remote proctoring, rich analytics, and deep integrations with FBR’s HRMS/SSO, benchmarked to Canvas, Moodle, Open edX, and Blackboard implementations.

3. Scope of Work

The selected firm will design, configure, integrate, test, and deploy an LMS (preferably open-source and enterprise-ready, e.g., Sakai LMS or equivalent) with the following capabilities:

Functional Specifications

I. Identity, Access & Governance

• Single Sign-On (SSO) with FBR’s HRMS directory, MFA support; granular roles (Learner, Instructor, Program Manager, Academy Admin, Proctor, External Participant/Guest).
• Provisioning & de-provisioning via standard APIs with attribute mapping (cadre, BS, grade, formation/region, posting, line manager).
• Multi-tenant hierarchy (IRS Academy + sub-campuses/cohorts) with delegated admin and data partitioning.
• Programs (bundled courses, credit hours), cohorting (induction, STP, Mid-Career or DST, specialized wings), re-runs and rolling enrollments.
• Learning paths by job role/grade with mandatory and elective tracks.

III. Content Authoring & Standards

• In-platform authoring studio (WYSIWYG, blocks, templates) and import from third-party tools.
• Standards compliance: SCORM 1.2/2004, xAPI with LRS support, and IMS LTI 1.3/LTI Advantage for deep tool integrations (virtual labs, proctoring, etc.).
• Integrations with CISCO Webex, Zoom/Teams, external assessments.
• Media & accessibility: streaming with transcripts/closed captions, image/PDF viewers, versioning and content lifecycle (draft → review → publish).

IV. Assessment, Integrity & Certification

• Assessment engine with item types (MCQ, multi-select, numeric/formula, case vignette, file upload, rubrics), pools/banks, randomization, time windows, negative marking, item analysis.
• Credentialing: auto-issued certificates (templates, QR/serial verification), Open Badges; CPD hour tracking and renewal workflows.
• Discussion boards, groups, peer review, announcements, Q&A.
• Virtual classrooms & events: native webinar/class session management with Zoom/Teams integration, attendance capture, and recordings posted to the course.
• Office hours and mentorship slots with booking and feedback loops.

VI. Discovery & Knowledge Hub

• Course catalog with search, filters, tags, featured programs, and recommendations.
• Resource library: policies/SROs/circulars, micro-learning clips, templates, reference decks; link to e-library and departmental resources.

VII. Analytics & Reporting

• Learner analytics, instructor dashboards, program analytics, completion/CPD compliance.
• Assessment analytics and xAPI/LRS events; API export for data warehouse/Power BI.

VIII. Quality Assurance & Governance

• Surveys & evaluations (Kirkpatrick-style) auto-triggered at course/program end.
• Instructor dashboard with SLA on grading & feedback turnaround.

IX. Mobility, Offline & Notifications

• Mobile app with offline mode, push/email/SMS notifications and digests.

X. Integration Interfaces (GovTech-ready)

• FBR’s HRMS integration with auto-enroll on changes; integration with other LMSs; directory, SSO, email/SMS gateways, document management.

XI. Administration & Support

• Role-based permissions with audit trails; help center, ticketing integration, in-app announcements; theming/branding for IRS Academy.

XII. Migration of Legacy Data

• Migration of IRS Academy’s legacy data onto the new LMS.

XIII. Website Enhancements & LMS Integration

• Review IRS Academy website and propose enhancements for design, navigation, content structuring, and responsiveness; ensure WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility.
• LMS to be integrated as a sub-domain/embedded module/SSO-enabled portal with consistent branding and data exchange APIs.

XIV. Develop Online Modules

• Digitize current STP curriculum into online modules using modern instructional design; convert manuals and materials into SCORM/xAPI content; include audio-visuals and simulations; pilot module with STP participants; Train-the-Trainer program for IRS Academy faculty.

4. Non-Functional & Technical Requirements

I. Identity & Access Management

• SSO with SAML 2.0; granular roles/permissions.

II. Accessibility & UX

• WCAG 2.1 AA conformity; offline-capable mobile application where feasible.

III. Security & Compliance

• ISO/IEC 27001 ISMS principles; compliance with FBR Data Governance Framework; MFA; audit logs; secure SDLC and DR/BCP.

IV. Operations & Support

• Content governance model; helpdesk runbook and SLAs; system performance monitoring.

5. Functional Requirements & Timeline

Prospective firms must submit a timeline showing the time required to deliver the products and/or services. Licenses, clearances, and approvals required under local law should be accounted for in the timeline.

6. Qualifications & Experience

Firms should have demonstrated experience in:

• Legally incorporated for at least five years with stable operations.
• Delivery of enterprise LMS for public-sector or regulated environments; experience with open-source stacks (e.g., Sakai).
• SCORM 2004 and xAPI/LRS; large-scale content migration.
• Integration skills for LTI v1.3/Advantage and SAML 2.0 SSO.
• WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility; multilingual UX and RTL handling; security engineering aligned to ISO/IEC 27001; secure SDLC, vulnerability management, incident response.
• ToT, documentation, SLAs, post-go-live support; ability to collaborate with FBR/PRAL IT and academy faculty.

7. Instructions to Bidders

Bidders should examine all Instructions, Terms and Conditions in the RFP. Submissions should be in two folders: Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal. Soft copies to [e-mail].

Proposal weightings (indicative): Technical Proposal, Experience/credibility, Approach & Methodology, and Price. Please provide milestone timelines and references. The price should be quoted in GBP, fixed for the contract, including all taxes and delivery costs.

Prospective firms must be legally registered and possess necessary licenses. The selection process reserves the right to disqualify non-responsive bids and to award to part of a bid if applicable.

Formal communications, clarifications, and addenda will be provided in writing. The solicitation may be posted online at www.BrightSpyre.com. Non-disclosure, no-collusion, government ownership disclosures, subcontracting disclosures and other standard procurement terms apply.

Note: Irrelevant or out-of-scope lines, such as stray references to non-essential “Relevant Experience” and unrelated personal qualifications have been removed to maintain focus on the job requirements.