Call for Proposals
Reference: Translation of academic books into Azerbaijani in the fields of Pediatrics, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Immunology, and Oncology.
The proposal must be submitted on or before 10:00 (local time) on Monday, 03 August 2026, via email address: [email protected]
Background
SOCAR Midstream Operations LLC (SOCAR Midstream), together with its partners and stakeholders, invites eligible organizations to submit project proposals for the translation of academic books in the above-mentioned fields.
This initiative is part of SOCAR Midstream Social Investments program aimed at:
- Ensure access to modern academic resources for students, educators, and researchers across educational institutions
- Support the development of knowledge and skills among participants
- Promote long-term social, cultural, and economic development
- Promote long-term social, cultural, and economic development
Target Group
The project primarily targets students, teachers, academic and research staff in relevant fields.
Services
Applications are invited from legally registered entities with relevant expertise. The selected organization will be expected to deliver the following services:
- Establish a qualified project team
- Conduct needs assessments among target groups across relevant educational institutions
- Select appropriate academic books and obtain necessary permissions from authors and publishers
- Translate, edit, and proofread selected books
Project Duration
Start date: September 2026
Proposal Submission Requirements
Interested organizations must include:
- Planned duration of project activities
- Summary of previously implemented similar projects or activities
- CVs or short profiles of project team members and experts
- Approach for project implementation and ensuring long-term sustainability, including justification
- Detailed information on proposed products and services, along with associated costs
- Other related project costs
- Logical Framework Matrix (Log frame)
- Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan, including qualitative and quantitative indicators
- Risk assessment and mitigation strategies
- Stakeholder analysis
- Detailed monthly implementation plan
Technical Proposal
As part of the Technical Proposal, each Applicant shall demonstrate its complete translation methodology by submitting a pilot translation. The objective of the pilot is not only to assess the quality of the final translated text, but also to evaluate the Applicant’s translation workflow, use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), quality assurance methodology, scientific review process, and overall efficiency. The Client intends to evaluate how the translation improves throughout each stage of the proposed workflow.
Pilot Translation
Each Applicant shall submit a pilot translation consisting of ten (10) consecutive pages from one of the proposed medical textbooks. The same ten (10) pages shall be submitted at every stage of the Applicant’s proposed translation process. Each stage shall be presented as a separate document showing the evolution of the translation from the initial AI-generated draft to the final publication-ready version.
Required Versions
The submission shall include, at a minimum, the following versions:
Version I – Initial AI Translation
The initial translation generated using Artificial Intelligence or other machine-assisted translation technology. No human editing shall be performed.
The Applicant shall identify:
- AI model(s) or software used
- Prompts or methodology (summary)
- Estimated time required
- Limitations identified
Version II – Professional Translator Review
The translation after review by a professional translator.
All changes compared with Version 1 shall be clearly visible using Microsoft Word Track Changes or another transparent revision method.
All changes compared with Version 1 shall be clearly visible using Microsoft Word Track Changes or another transparent revision method.
- Types of corrections introduced
- Reasons for the corrections
- Time required
- Translator responsible
Version III – Medical Expert Review
The translation after scientific review by a qualified medical expert. All scientific revisions, terminology corrections and conceptual improvements shall remain visible.
The Applicant shall identify:
- Reviewer
- Academic qualifications
- Field of specialization
- Scientific corrections introduced
- Time required
Version IV – Editorial and Linguistic Review
The translation after professional language editing and proofreading.
All editorial changes shall remain visible.
The Applicant shall describe:
- Language improvements
- Readability improvements
- Consistency improvements
- Formatting corrections
- Time required
Version V – Final Quality-Assured Version
The final publication-ready translation after completion of all quality assurance procedures. This version shall represent the document proposed for printing and publication.
Visibility of Revisions
The Client shall be able to observe how the translation evolved throughout the process.
Accordingly:
- Every modification shall remain visible
- Additions, deletions and replacements shall be clearly marked
- Terminology corrections shall be identifiable
- Scientific corrections shall be identifiable
- Stylistic improvements shall be identifiable
- Consistency corrections shall be identifiable
Applicants may use:
- Microsoft Word Track Changes
- Color coding
- Comments
- Annotations
- Or another transparent revision system
The Client reserves the right to reject proposals where the evolution of the translation process cannot be clearly assessed.
- Revision Log
Applicants shall submit a Revision Log summarizing all changes introduced during each stage.
The Revision Log shall follow the format below (or an equivalent format providing the same information).
| Stage | Reviewer | Time Required | Number of Changes | Main Types of Corrections | Representative Examples | Representative Examples |
| Version 1 | AI | Initial translation | — | Initial draft | ||
| Version 2 | Professional Translator | Grammar, terminology, syntax | Improve translation accuracy | |||
| Version 3 | Medical Expert | Medical terminology, scientific concepts, clinical accuracy. | Scientific validation | |||
| Version 4 | Language Editor | Style, readability, consistency | Editorial improvements | |||
| Version 5 | QA Team | Final consistency, formatting, references | Publication readiness |
Applicants may include additional categories where appropriate.
- Selection of the Pilot Translation Text
The pilot translation text should be selected by the Applicant.
The selected text is intended to represent the complexity of a typical chapter of an internationally recognized medical textbook and will include, where practicable, a representative combination of the following elements:
- Complex medical and scientific terminology
- Continuous narrative text
- Figures and illustrations
- Figure captions
- Tables
- Abbreviations and acronyms
- Latin anatomical, pathological and microbiological terminology
- Names of medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and biological agents
- References to other chapters, figures or tables
- Numerical data, units of measurement and laboratory values
- Clinical recommendations or treatment algorithms
- Lists, bullet points and structured content
The purpose of selecting such a representative sample is to enable the Client to evaluate the Applicant’s ability to accurately translate all major types of content typically encountered in medical textbooks.
The Client reserves the right to select a sample text from any chapter of the proposed textbook and provide that text to all Applicants for the purpose of ensuring a fair and objective comparison of the technical proposals.
- Supporting Documentation
The Proposal shall also include:
- Description of the complete translation workflow
- Description of the AI-assisted methodology
- Description of the terminology management process
- Description of the Translation Memory methodology
- Quality assurance methodology
- List of software platforms used
- List of AI tools used
- Composition of the translation team
- Qualifications of translators
- Qualifications of medical reviewers
- Qualifications of editors
- Estimated time required for each stage
- Estimated total time required to translate the complete textbook
- Evaluation of the Technical Proposal
The pilot translation will form an integral part of the Technical Evaluation. The Client will evaluate, among other factors:
- Scientific accuracy
- Linguistic quality
- Terminology consistency
- Effectiveness of the proposed AI-assisted methodology
- Transparency of the translation process
- Effectiveness of quality assurance procedures
- Qualifications of the proposed team
- Efficiency of the workflow
- Quality of revisions introduced at each stage
- Ability of the Applicant to identify and correct AI-generated errors
- Overall readiness to deliver publication-quality medical textbooks
The Client reserves the right to request additional clarification, interviews, demonstrations of the proposed workflow, or live demonstrations of the AI-assisted translation process before making the final selection.
Appraisal Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following:
1. Organizational and Professional Capacity
- Adequate experience, knowledge, and expertise of the organization, team, and experts
- Submission of:
- summary of similar previous work;
- CVs or professional profiles of key personnel
2. Stakeholder Engagement
- Involvement of teachers, students, researchers, and academic staff in proposal development
- Consideration of their feedback
- Active engagement during design, implementation, and monitoring
3. Relevance of Books and Learning Materials
- Coverage of key subject matter concepts
- Appropriate level of difficulty for the target audience
- Use of visual materials to support learning
- Use of materials in reputable universities
- Use of materials in reputable universities
- International recognition of authors
- International recognition of authors
4. Project Approach and Innovation
- Application of innovative approaches
- Ability to create long-term value for beneficiaries, SOCAR, and partners
5. Sustainability and Financial Reliability
- Sustainability beyond SOCAR funding
- Provision of realistic and long-term solutions for target groups
6. Budget and Cost Efficiency
- Reasonable and well-justified budget proposal
7. Results Measurement
- Clear explanation of how project objectives will be achieved
- Defined mechanisms for monitoring and measuring results
Monitoring and Evaluation
Measurable indicators will be developed based on the Logical Framework Matrix and monitored on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Regular monitoring and evaluation activities will be conducted to ensure compliance with agreed terms.
Payment Terms
- Payments will be made in Azerbaijani Manat (AZN)
- Payments will be processed after:
- submission of original documents and invoices
- delivery of agreed outputs
- submission of a satisfactory acceptance/reporting document
- Payments will be made within 30 days via bank transfer
- All costs associated with proposal preparation must be covered by the applicant organization
- SOCAR bears no responsibility for any costs related to proposal preparation
Note
The rights for reprinting and reproduction of the translated books will belong to SOCAR Midstream.
Final Submission Date
The proposal must be submitted in the English or Azerbaijani language on or before 10:00 (local time) on Monday, 03 August 2026, via email address: [email protected]
Before submitting your application, please make sure that:
- they are well received before the application deadline;
- the file is complete and readable before submitting;
- they meet all formal requirements.