Ireland – IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support – Request for Tenders to establish a Single Supplier Framework for the Provision of Game Design, Development, and Support Services

The GroSafe research project is a multi-year research and development project collaboratively operated by TU Dublin and the ISPCC, and funded by Research Ireland under the National Challenge Fund. The project aims to develop a number of software-based educational interventions aimed at improving societal resilience against child grooming. One of the project’s main software interventions is a gamified educational training platform, hereafter referred to as the “GroSafe Training Game”. The GroSafe Training Game is designed to be played by children in the age range of 8-17. In this game, players answers questions about child grooming at various levels of difficulty. The educational goal is for players to develop a better understanding of the warning signs of (early-stage) child grooming, teaching them both what to be on the lookout for and which steps to take in cases of suspected grooming activity in their own lives. Initial design, development, and evaluation work was conducted in-house, resulting in a prototype game developed using free game design tools. Evaluation with this initial prototype demonstrated the potential value of the game concept, but also indicated a need for further development work at a level that the GroSafe project did not possess. As such, external expertise is required.