hereinafter referred to as GDE2 2 )  which describes SSD2 transmission requirements   metadata and general business rules definition which might be integrated for each data  collection through a business rule engine.  In this remit EFSA has developed and is maintaining a set of controlled terminologies. It is of fundamental importance the effort done by EFSA in the field of food description and  classification. EFSA defined the FoodEx food classification and description system to allow food coding  across data domains. The first guidance on FoodEx was published in 2012 3  and an updated  guidance document was published in 2015 4  (here after referred to as FoodEx2).  In this context  EFSA is seeking the support of a contractor for scientific data management  activities and processes.  This call is based on EFSA’s  2021 Work Programme for grants and operational  procurements as presented in Annex XIa of the Programming Document 2021  –  2023   available on the EFSA’s website 5 . The present Call for tenders aims to conclude a framework contract up to a maximum of 4  years with one contractor. The framework contract will be implemented through specific contracts or order forms.  Every time there is a need for a service/activity  EFSA will request to the contractor an  offer based on the prices agreed under the framework contract. Once the estimate provided  by the contractor is accepted by EFSA  a specific contract or order form will be concluded  between EFSA and the contractor.  The specific contract or order form will set out the specific conditions for performing the  individual assignment. For more details on the administrative implementation modalities  of the framework contract please refer to section 1.4 of these tender specifications.  1.2 OBJECTIVES  The contractor must be able to carry out several individual assignments in parallel and to  provide the required services within assigned time and according to quality criteria defined  by EFSA.  The objective of this call for tender is to acquire support in the following areas:  a. Scientific data management:  i. Data collection and data connection;  ii. Management of standard and controlled terminology;  iii. Data flows for integration and transformation; iv. Scientific data validation; v. Identity management; 5  2 Guidance  on  Data  Exchange  version  2.0.  EFSA  Journal  2014;12(12):3945   173  pp.  doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3945  3  European Food Safety Authority; The food classification and description system FoodEx 2 (draft revision 1).  Supporting Publications 2011:215. [438 pp.]. Available online: www.efsa.europa.eu 4  European Food Safety Authority  2015. The food classification and description  system FoodEx2 (revision 2). EFSA supporting publication 2015:EN-804. 90 pp. Available online:  www.efsa.europa.eu 5 https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/event/2020/mb201217/9-programming-document-2021-2023- 7mb201217-a2.pdf 