SERVICE CONTRACT NOTICE
Technical Assistance to ACP Secretariat for the Intra ACP Climate Services and Related Applications Programme
Location: Brussels – ACP countries
Please note that the awarding of the contract is subject to the condition of the prior conclusion of a financing agreement which does not modify the elements of the procurement procedure (this will be the case, for instance, if the budget initially foreseen is different or if the timeframe, the nature or the condition of the implementation are altered). If the precedent condition is not met, the contracting authority will either abandon the procurement or cancel the award procedure without the candidates or tenderers being entitled to claim any compensation.
- Publication reference
EuropeAid/139705/IH/SER/MULTI
- Procedure
Restricted
- Programme title
Intra-ACP Climate Services and related applications
- Financing
11th European Development Fund (EDF)
- Contracting Authority
ACP Secretariat, on behalf of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, Brussels, BELGIUM
Clarifications may be sought from the contracting authority at the following email address josephine@acp.int at the latest 21 days before the deadline for submission of applications stated at the point 23 below.
Clarifications will be published on the website of DG International Cooperation and Development at the latest 5 days before the deadline.
CONTRACT SPECIFICATION
- Nature of contract
Fee-based
- Contract description
The Technical Assistance deployed at the ACP Secretariat will be responsible for supporting the ACP Secretariat in the monitoring and reporting of the entire action and will function as a coordinator for all the technical assistance contracts recruited under each of the regions to ensure coherence and synergies between the different components of the action. It will also support the ACP Secretariat in the promotion of the Intra-ACP nature of the action, through south-south and triangular cooperation, and Intra-ACP fora; lead the implementation of a knowledge management system serving the exchange and cross fertilization of experience among programme stakeholders, public outreach, communication and visibility. Moreover, the TA contract will support the ACP Secretariat and the ACP entrusted entities in the development and implementation of a capacity building programme in cooperation with UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and EC Joint Research Centre (JRC) and supporting the ACP regions in developing tools for the integration of socio-economic elements in climate services.
The team will be composed of approximately 1.5 equivalent full time experts and 1.3 equivalent non-key full time experts. A total of approximately 3,095 working days will be required over a period of approximately 60 months.
- Number and titles of lots
One lot only
- Maximum budget
EUR 3.200.000
- Scope for additional services
The Contracting Authority may, at its own discretion, extend the project in duration and/or scope subject to the availability of funding up to the estimated amount of EUR 3,200,000 . Any extension of the contract would be subject to satisfactory performance by the Contractor.
CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
- Eligibility
Participation in tendering is open on equal terms to natural and legal persons (participating either individually or in a grouping – consortium – of tenderers) which are established in a Member State of the European Union, ACP States or in a country or territory authorised by the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement under which the contract is financed (see also item 29 below). Participation is also open to international organisations.
Please be aware that after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, the rules of access to EU procurement procedures of economic operators established in third countries will apply to candidates or tenderers from the United Kingdom depending on the outcome of negotiations. In case such access is not provided by legal provisions in force at the time of contract award, candidates or tenderers from the United Kingdom could be rejected from the procurement procedure
- Candidature
All eligible natural and legal persons (as per item 11 above) or groupings of such persons (consortia) may apply.
A consortium may be a permanent, legally-established grouping or a grouping which has been constituted informally for a specific tender procedure. All members of a consortium (i.e., the leader and all other members) are jointly and severally liable to the Contracting Authority.
The participation of an ineligible natural or legal person (as per item 11) will result in the automatic exclusion of that person. In particular, if that ineligible person belongs to a consortium, the whole consortium will be excluded.
- Number of applications
No more than one application can be submitted by a natural or legal person whatever the form of participation (as an individual legal entity or as leader or member of a consortium submitting an application). In the event that a natural or legal person submits more than one application, all applications in which that person has participated will be excluded.
- Shortlist alliances prohibited
Any tenders received from tenderers comprising firms other than those mentioned in the short-listed application forms will be excluded from this restricted tender procedure unless prior approval from the Contracting Authority has been obtained (see Practical Guide – PRAG – 2.6.3.). Short-listed candidates may not form alliances or subcontract to each other for the contract in question.
- Grounds for exclusion
As part of the application form, candidates must submit a signed declaration, included in the standard application form, to the effect that they are not in any of the exclusion situations listed in Section 2.6.10.1 of the PRAG.
Candidates included in the lists of EU restrictive measures (see Section 2.4. of the PRAG) at the moment of the award decision cannot be awarded the contract.
- Sub-contracting
Subcontracting is allowed.
- Number of candidates to be short-listed
On the basis of the applications received, between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to submit detailed tenders for this contract. If the number of eligible candidates meeting the selection criteria is less than the minimum of 4, the Contracting Authority may invite the candidates who satisfy the criteria to submit a tender.
PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE
- Provisional date of invitation to tender
November 2018
- Provisional commencement date of the contract
February 2019
- Initial period of implementation of tasks
60 months
SELECTION AND AWARD CRITERIA
- Selection criteria
The following selection criteria will be applied to candidates. In the case of applications submitted by a consortium, these selection criteria will be applied to the consortium as a whole unless specified otherwise. The selection criteria will not be applied to natural persons and single-member companies when they are sub-contractors.
1) Economic and financial capacity of candidate (based on item 3 of the application form). In case of candidate being a public body, equivalent information should be provided. The reference period which will be taken into account will be the last three years for which accounts have been closed.
- The average annual turnover of the candidate must exceed Euro 500.000, in the past 3 years
2) Professional capacity of candidate (based on items 4 and 5 of the application form). The reference period which will be taken into account will be the last three years from submission deadline.
- At least 3 permanent staff working for the candidate in field of climate change in the context of development cooperation.
3) Technical capacity of candidate (based on items 5 and 6 of the application form). The reference period which will be taken into account will be the last three years from submission deadline.
1- The candidate has provided technical advisory and support services under at least 2 contracts each with a budget of at least Euro 1.000.000 related to programmes with climate change scope in the field of development cooperation, focusing on capacity building, communication, knowledge management, policy analysis, and/or programme monitoring. The part implemented by the candidate itself must be of at least Euro 500.000.
2- The candidate has provided technical advisory and support services under at least 2 contracts with a budget of at least Euro 750.000 related to climate change programmes with a global and/or regional scope in the field of development cooperation, including the organisation of large conferences The part implemented by the candidate itself must be of at least Euro 375.000.
3- The candidate has provided technical advisory and support services under at least 1 contract with a budget of at least Euro 500.000 related to programmes with Climate Services scope in one or more of the following sectors: agriculture, health, water, and disaster risk reduction with focus on development and implementation of climate services capacity building programme. The part implemented by the candidate itself must be of at least Euro 250.000.
Projects used as reference for all criteria must have been implemented at any moment during the following reference period: September 2015 to September 2018.
This means that the project the candidate refers to could have been started or completed at any time during the indicated period but it does not necessarily have to be started and completed during that period, nor implemented during the entire period.
Candidates are allowed to refer either to projects completed within the reference period (although started earlier) or to projects not yet completed. In the first case the project will be considered in its whole if proper evidence of performance is provided (statement or certificate from the entity which awarded the contract, proof of final payment). In case of projects still on-going only the portion satisfactorily completed until the end of the reference period although started earlier will be taken into consideration. This portion will have to be supported by documentary evidence (similarly to projects completed) also detailing its value. In this case, a precise budget and description of the tasks which were implemented (up to September 2018) shall be added in the detailed description of the project in the application form. Please adapt the relevant table in the submission form accordingly.
If a candidate/tenderer has implemented the project in a consortium, the percentage that the candidate/tenderer has successfully completed must be clear from the documentary evidence, together with a description of the nature of the services provided if the selection criteria relating to the pertinence of the experience have been used. Documentary evidence is not required at the application stage but will be requested with the invitation to tender.
Previous experience which caused breach of contract and termination by a Contracting Authority shall not be used as reference.
An economic operator may, where appropriate and for a particular contract, rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of the links which it has with them. Some examples of when it may not be considered appropriate by the contracting authority are when the tender rely in majority on the capacities of other entities or when they rely on key criteria. If the tender relies on other entities it must prove to the contracting authority that it will have at its disposal the resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example by producing a commitment on the part of those entities to place those resources at its disposal. Such entities, for instance the parent company of the economic operator, must respect the same rules of eligibility – notably that of nationality – and must comply with the selection criteria for which the economic operator relies on them.. Furthermore, the data for this third entity for the relevant selection criterion should be included in the tender in a separate document. Proof of the capacity will also have to be furnished when requested by the contracting authority.
With regard to technical and professional criteria, an economic operator may only rely on the capacities of other entities where the latter will perform the works or services for which these capacities are required.
With regard to economic and financial criteria, the entities upon whose capacity the tenderer relies, become jointly and severally liable for the performance of the contract.
If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the above selection criteria, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the applications of these candidates must be reexamined to identify the eight best candidates. The only additional comparative criteria which will be taken into consideration during this re-examination, in the order that they appear below, are::
1) The highest number of projects fulfilling criterion 3.1
2) In case of ex-aequo, the highest number of projects fulfilling criterion 3.2
3) In case of ex-aequo after application of additional criteria 3.1 and 3.2, the highest number of projects fulfilling criterion 3.3
4) If candidates have an equal score after application of additional criteria 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3, the total budget implemented by the candidate itself for projects fulfilling criteria 3.1 and 3.2.
N.B.: additional comparative criterion 2) will be applied only if the number of eligible candidates remain higher than 8 after applying additional comparative criterion 1). Additional comparative criterion 3) will be applied only if the number of eligible candidates remain higher than 8 after applying additional comparative criterion 2). Additional comparative criterion 4) will be applied only if the number of eligible candidates remain higher than 8 after applying additional comparative criterion 3).
- Award criteria
Best price-quality ratio.
APPLICATION
- Deadline for receipt of applications
The candidate/tenderer’s attention is drawn to the fact that there are two different systems for sending applications/tenders: one is by post or private mail service, or by hand delivery.
In the first case, the application/tender must be sent before the date and time limit for submission, as evidenced by the postmark or deposit slip, but in the second case it is the acknowledgment of receipt given at the time of the delivery of the application/tender which will serve as proof.
16h00 Central European Time on 5th October 2018.
Any application submitted to the contracting authority after this deadline will not be considered.
The contracting authority may, for reasons of administrative efficiency, reject any application or tender submitted on time to the postal service but received, for any reason beyond the contracting authority’s control, after the effective date of approval of the short-list report or of the evaluation report, if accepting applications or tenders that were submitted on time but arrived late would considerably delay the evaluation procedure(for instance when applications or tenders are received after the evaluation committee has finished its works and evaluating them would imply re-calling the evaluation committee) or jeopardise decisions already taken and notified.
- Application format and details to be provided
Applications must be submitted using the standard application form, the format and instructions of which must be strictly observed. The application form is available from the following Internet address:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?chapterTitleCode=B
The application must be accompanied by a declaration of honour on exclusion and selection criteria using the template available from the following Internet address:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?chapterTitleCode=A
Any additional documentation (brochure, letter, etc.) sent with an application will not be taken into consideration.
- How applications may be submitted
Applications must be submitted in English exclusively to the Contracting Authority in a sealed envelope:
- EITHER by post or by courier service, in which case the evidence shall be constituted by the postmark or the date of the deposit slip, to :
The Secretary General
The Secretariat of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
Avenue Georges Henri 451
1200 Brussels
Belgium
(Tel. +32 2 743 0600)
- OR hand delivered by the participant in person or by an agent directly to the premises of the contracting authority in return for a signed and dated receipt, in which case the evidence shall be constituted by this acknowledgement of receipt, to The Secretary General
The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
Avenue Georges Henri 451
1200 Brussels
Belgium
(Tel. +32 2 743 0600)
The Office is open from 09H00 to 18H00 Monday to Friday
The Contract title and the Publication reference (see item 1 above) must be clearly marked on the envelope containing the application and must always be mentioned in all subsequent correspondence with the Contracting Authority.
Applications submitted by any other means will not be considered.
By submitting an application candidates accept to receive notification of the outcome of the procedure by electronic means. Such notification shall be deemed to have been received on the date upon which the contracting authority sends it to the electronic address referred to in the application.
- Alteration or withdrawal of applications
Candidates may alter or withdraw their applications by written notification prior to the deadline for submission of applications. No application may be altered after this deadline.
Any such notification of alteration or withdrawal shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with Item 25. The outer envelope (and the relevant inner envelope if used) must be marked ‘Alteration’ or ‘Withdrawal’ as appropriate.
- Operational language
All written communications for this tender procedure and contract must be in English.
- Date of publication of prior information notice
09 of June 2018
EA392 JOS 61
- Legal basis[1]
Annex IV to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 as amended in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005 and in Ouagadougou on 22 June 2010. Reference is made to Annex IV as revised by Decision 1/2014 of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers of 20 June 2014.
- Additional information
Contact mailbox : josephine@acp.int
[1] Please state any specificity that might have an impact on rules on participation (such as geographic or thematic or long/short term).
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