Development and Technical implementation of Islands Server Digital Platform at Islands Book Trust, Remote, £Freelance Rate

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Islands Book Trust invites proposals from experienced freelancers, website developers and small studios to develop Islands Server, a free-to-use digital platform for Scotland’s islands. This platform will enable people and organisations to contribute, preserve and discover video, audio, oral histories, heritage, stories, photographs, projects and contemporary cultural material.

This commission is for technical design, development, implementation, testing and handover, not a new brand or visual redesign. IBT will work in collaboration to provide the concept, visual and editorial direction, content, partnerships and ongoing platform management.

The SSEN allocation of £15k relates directly to the website development, digital hub architecture, Islands Voices archive, hosting configuration, data handling and security, including targeted specialist support.

The site structure is based on ISLANDS | PEOPLE | PROJECTS | VOICES | KNOWLEDGE, with island and contributor search, current activity, discovery and contributor profiles.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

1. PROJECT OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE

Islands Server is intended to operate as a curated island-specific media and heritage platform rather than an unrestricted social network, supporting island culture, heritage, knowledge, creativity and contemporary island life. The commission is primarily for the technical development and implementation of Islands Server. IBT will supply the concept, and visual direction, content and editorial direction, partner relationships and ongoing platform management.

2. CORE PLATFORM REQUIREMENTS

● Public users must be able to browse the platform without an account.

● Contributors must be able to create a verified account/profile and submit video, audio, images and text.

● The platform must support both individual contributor profiles and organisational profiles for participating community, heritage and partner organisations.

● Every contribution must be associated with at least one Scottish island and structured through metadata such as contributor, content type, subject/theme, language and project/collection.

● The platform must support discovery through search, filtering, metadata, island navigation, contributor profiles and interconnected content.

● IBT staff must have straightforward content management and administrative control without dependence on a developer after the agreed project delivery timeline is complete..

● The platform must support responsive use across desktop, tablet and mobile.

● Integration with the wider IBT website and online shop should be accommodated where applicable.

● The contribution interface must be usable by people with varying levels of digital confidence and should not require specialist technical knowledge.

3. EVERY ISLAND

Island-wide coverage is a fixed requirement. Islands Server must be structured to provide access for every Scottish island from launch and eventually represent every Scottish island. The taxonomy, navigation, search and database architecture must not be limited to initial partner islands or require fundamental redevelopment as additional islands become active. Content can grow progressively, but the underlying platform must support Scotland-wide island coverage from the outset.

4. MODERATION, SAFEGUARDING AND CONTRIBUTION

Islands Server is a moderated contribution platform. New submissions must not automatically become public. The system must provide a proportionate moderation and governance workflow, including:

● Pre-publication moderation queues for IBT and/or authorised moderators.

● Different permission levels, including administrators, moderators, trusted partner organisations and ordinary contributors.

● The ability to grant trusted-contributor status where appropriate.

● Reporting/flagging on published contributions, together with an appropriate process for complaints and content-related concerns.

● Immediate administrator controls to unpublish or delete content and suspend accounts.

● Moderation records showing approval, publication, subsequent changes and removal.

● Clear prohibited-content controls covering sexual or pornographic content, graphic violence, abuse, hate material, harassment, illegal material, spam and material unrelated to Scotland’s islands.

● Terms of contribution requiring uploaders to confirm that they have the right to share material and that consent/permissions have been appropriately considered.

Applicants must explain how they would mitigate malicious or inappropriate uploads before public publication, using an appropriate combination of account verification, upload security, automated screening where proportionate and human moderation. The supplier should also demonstrate awareness of the potential application of the Online Safety Act to a service on which users upload material that other users may encounter. Where children are likely to access or use the service, the supplier must identify any additional safeguarding, assessment or technical requirements that need to be addressed within the platform design.

5. MEDIA, ARCHIVE AND DATA ARCHITECTURE

Applicants must propose a media-storage and delivery architecture appropriate to IBT’s infrastructure, expected usage and future growth. The solution must address video, audio, photography and text, including appropriate validation, storage, playback and projected storage requirements.

● Secure file uploads, including permitted file types, size controls, verification of actual file type, safe storage, malware scanning and appropriate safeguards against malicious uploads.

● A database/data model capable of expressing relationships between PEOPLE, ISLANDS, PLACES, STORIES, PROJECTS, ORGANISATIONS, MEDIA and SUBJECTS.

● Submission metadata including creator, contributor/uploader, date, island/location, copyright holder, licence/permission, description, language, consent status where relevant, and source/provenance.

● A process for takedown requests and copyright disputes.

● The ability to distinguish preservation from publication, with provision for states such as Public, Restricted, Embargoed, IBT/partner access only, Awaiting permissions and Unpublished.

● Architecture that can grow in storage, database size, concurrent use, media delivery and future functionality without fundamental rebuilding.

6. ACCESSIBILITY, PRIVACY AND SECURITY

● WCAG 2.2 AA is the accessibility target and must be tested before acceptance.

● Support for captions/transcripts for video and audio, keyboard navigation, appropriate focus states, alternative text and accessible media controls.

● Privacy-by-design and appropriate data handling for contributor accounts, personal profiles, photographs, recordings and community heritage material.

● Processes for account deletion and data export/deletion where applicable, consent/permission records, appropriate retention controls and removal of personal information without destroying unrelated archival records.

● Secure development practices protecting user accounts, uploaded fi les, personal data and administrative systems.

● Applicants must identify relevant technical, security, safeguarding, accessibility, performance, scalability or sustainability risks and propose proportionate solutions within the available budget.

7. HOSTING, SERVER INFRASTRUCTURE AND RECOVERY

The £15k maximum project budget covers the development and technical implementation of Islands Server. The purchase of physical server infrastructure is currently under separate budgetary consideration by IBT, and its inclusion within the commission has not yet been confirmed. Applicants should therefore itemise any proposed hardware costs separately from development, configuration and deployment costs.

Before deployment, the supplier must assess the suitability, capacity and security of the existing infrastructure and identify any material limitations.

● Capability to configure and deploy the platform on self-hosted or dedicated server infrastructure.

● Relevant server-environment competence covering configuration, permissions, security updates, monitoring, backups and recovery.

● Automated backups, an off-site backup, a documented disaster-recovery process and a tested restoration procedure.

● A private staging/test environment so updates can be tested before deployment to the live platform.

● Clear documentation of server configuration, deployment, backup, restoration, updating and routine maintenance.

8. ANALYTICS AND REPORTING

Reporting capability must be built in from the beginning to support SSEN programme evidence and ongoing platform management. As applicable, IBT should be able to evidence registered contributors, participating organisations, islands represented, uploads/submissions, published material, content types, usage/views, downloads and growth over time.

9. USER GUIDANCE, TRAINING MATERIAL AND HANDOVER

The supplier is not being commissioned to deliver IBT’s community workshops. The supplier must, however, clearly document how Islands Server is used so that IBT can develop and deliver its own workshops for community and heritage groups. Clear user guidance covering account creation, contributor profi les, submission/upload, descriptions and metadata, island association, permissions and consent, accessibility, moderation submission and management of previously submitted content.

● Separate administrator guidance covering moderation, approvals, account management, content removal, reporting, platform maintenance and routine troubleshooting.

● Documentation written in clear, accessible language that IBT can adapt into community workshop and training material.

● Administrator handover/training for relevant IBT staff, including contributor management, moderation, reporting and routine platform administration.

● Reusable screenshots or demonstration material where practical.

10. OWNERSHIP, PORTABILITY AND NO LOCK-IN

IBT must retain organisational control of the platform and be able to appoint another developer in future without rebuilding the system. The commission must therefore include full handover of the source code, database structure, configuration documentation, administrator credentials, server documentation, deployment instructions, backup/restore instructions and details of third-party dependencies, together with appropriate rights for IBT to modify and continue developing the software. The platform must not depend on an account, proprietary component, licence or hosting arrangement controlled solely by the original supplier. Open-source approaches and avoidance of unnecessary proprietary dependencies are preferred.

11. TESTING, ACCEPTANCE AND POST-LAUNCH SUPPORT

Completion will mean more than the platform being placed online. Acceptance will require the agreed functionality to work and the agreed deliverables to have been supplied.

● Security and accessibility testing completed.

● Desktop, tablet and mobile behaviour tested.

● Contributor upload and moderation workflows tested.

● Server deployment, backup and restoration arrangements completed and documented.

● Documentation and handover completed.

● Critical defects identified during acceptance resolved.

● A defined post-launch defect period must be included so that problems identified immediately after real-world use can be corrected as part of the commission.

12. REQUIRED / ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

The successful applicant, team or supplier must be able to demonstrate:

● Full-stack web development experience and delivery of live, production-ready websites or digital platforms.

● Experience developing user-contribution platforms, including registration, authentication, contributor profiles and submission workflows.

● Experience implementing content moderation workflows, approval queues, reporting, account controls, removal/unpublishing and appropriate audit records.

● Secure web development and secure file-upload systems.

● Deployment and administration of web applications on self-hosted or dedicated server infrastructure.

● Linux/server-environment competence, where applicable, including configuration, permissions, security updates, backups, monitoring and recovery.

● Database design and management for interconnected people, places, projects, recordings, stories and organisations.

● Media handling for video, audio, photography and text, including validation, storage and playback.

● Search, filtering, taxonomy and metadata architecture.

● Content-management system development or configuration that allows IBT staff to manage routine administration independently.

● Ability to implement an existing visual, UX and UI direction responsively rather than requiring a redesign.

● Responsive front-end development across desktop, tablet and mobile.

● Web accessibility knowledge and ability to work to the stated accessibility target.

● Data protection and privacy-by-design awareness.

● Technical documentation, training and full handover.

● Ability to work within the fixed £15k maximum project budget, distinguishing launch-critical requirements from functionality that may be developed subsequently.

● Clear communication of technical decisions, risks and trade-offs to a non-development project team.

13. DESIRABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

● Digital archives, oral-history platforms, cultural heritage projects or community media platforms.

● Video/audio streaming and optimisation.

● Large or growing media libraries.

● Taxonomy and archival metadata.

● Automated content-screening/moderation tools used alongside human moderation.

● Multilingual digital platforms.

● Scottish cultural, heritage or island-sector projects.

● Charity, community or public-interest digital projects.

● Open-source development and avoidance of unnecessary proprietary dependencies.

● Platforms designed to remain maintainable by a small organisation after the original contract ends.

● Collaborative working.

● Online Safety Act awareness/experience. IBT does not require one individual to personally hold every specialist skill. Applications may come from experienced freelancers, developer partnerships or small studios, including teams that bring in specialist server/security expertise where required.

14. BUDGET

The maximum budget available for this commission is £15k This is the absolute total project cap, not a starting figure or an expected fee. It must cover the platform development, hosting/configuration and security requirements, not simply developer labour, and is inclusive of all development costs and any applicable expenses. Proposals must provide a clear cost breakdown against the proposed scope and deliverables and identify any recurring costs, third-party costs/licences or other dependencies. Where an applicant considers an element of the specification disproportionate to the available budget, this should be identified clearly with a technically appropriate alternative or phased approach. The core platform must not be designed in a way that requires fundamental rebuilding for future development.

15. WHAT APPLICANTS SHOULD SUBMIT

● A concise proposal explaining the technical approach to delivering Islands Server against this brief.

● A clear breakdown of costs within the £15k maximum project cap.

● An outline delivery plan and proposed milestones/timescale.

● Any material assumptions, exclusions, recurring costs or third-party dependencies.

● Identification of any technical, security, infrastructure, safeguarding, accessibility, scalability or sustainability concerns, with proportionate proposed solutions.

● A few relevant examples of previous work, explaining specifically what the applicant/team built and their role in delivery.

● Details of the applicant, team or specialist partners who would undertake the work and the relevant skills they bring.

16. DELIVERY APPROACH

The successful supplier will be expected to review the specification, existing visual mock-ups, server infrastructure, expected media requirements and moderation/security needs before substantial development begins. The supplier should challenge the technical specification where appropriate rather than reproduce it uncritically, and should confirm a technically robust delivery approach within the available budget. The final delivery programme and milestones will be agreed with the appointed supplier.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION

IBT proposes assessing submissions against demonstrated relevant delivery experience, technical and security approach, moderation and safeguarding, accessibility, maintainability and handover, feasibility within the cap, and clarity of costs, risks and delivery milestones.

APPLICATION PROCESS AND DECISIONS TO CONFIRM

Deadline November 13th 2026

● Applicants should respond to the full specification above, identifying launch-critical deliverables and any proposed phased functionality without compromising the platform’s long-term island-wide architecture.

● Email your applications to heather@islandsbooktrust.org

Pay: Up to £15,000.00 per year

Work Location: Remote