CALL FOR TENDERS - European Commission |...
Transcript of CALL FOR TENDERS - European Commission |...
1
EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL REGIONAL AND URBAN POLICY Policy Director
CALL FOR TENDERS
N° 2017CE16BAT025
Outsourcing of the preparation of the annual summaries
of data on Financial Instruments
supported by the ERDF and CF
2014-2020 programming period
TENDER SPECIFICATIONS
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... 2
1. INFORMATION ON TENDERING .......................................................................... 4
1.1. Participation ......................................................................................................... 4
1.2. Contractual conditions.......................................................................................... 4
1.3. Compliance with applicable law .......................................................................... 4
1.4. Joint tenders.......................................................................................................... 4
1.5. Subcontracting ...................................................................................................... 5
1.6. Structure and content of the tender ...................................................................... 5
1.7. Identification of the tenderer ................................................................................ 6
2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................. 6
2.1. General background ............................................................................................. 6
2.2. Objectives ............................................................................................................. 8
2.3. Scope of the contract ............................................................................................ 8
2.4. Tasks..................................................................................................................... 8
2.5. Input by the Contracting Authority .................................................................... 10
2.6. The methodology................................................................................................ 10
2.7. Work organisation: ............................................................................................. 11
2.8. Time schedule .................................................................................................... 11
2.9. Deliverables ........................................................................................................ 12
2.10. Volume of the contract ..................................................................................... 13
3. CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND GRAPHIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE
DELIVERABLES ..................................................................................................... 14
3.1. Content ............................................................................................................... 14
3.2. Structure ............................................................................................................. 15
3.3. Graphic requirements ......................................................................................... 15
3
4. EVALUATION AND AWARD ............................................................................... 15
4.1. Verification of non-exclusion............................................................................. 15
4.2. Selection criteria ................................................................................................. 16
4.3. Award criteria ..................................................................................................... 19
4.4. Ranking of tenders ............................................................................................. 20
5. ANNEXES ................................................................................................................ 21
4
1. INFORMATION ON TENDERING
1.1. Participation
Participation in this procurement procedure is open on equal terms to all natural and legal
persons coming within the scope of the Treaties, as well as to international organisations.
It is also open to all natural and legal persons established in a third country which has a
special agreement with the Union in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid
down in that agreement. Where the plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement1
concluded within the World Trade Organisation applies, the participation to this procedure is
also open to all natural and legal persons established in the countries that have ratified this
Agreement, on the conditions it lays down.
1.2. Contractual conditions
The tenderer should bear in mind the provisions of the draft contract which specifies the
rights and obligations of the contractor, particularly those on payments, performance of the
contract, confidentiality, and checks and audits.
1.3. Compliance with applicable law
The tender must comply with applicable environmental, social and labour law obligations
established by Union law, national legislation, collective agreements or the international
environmental, social and labour conventions listed in Annex X to Directive 2014/24/EU2.
1.4. Joint tenders
A joint tender is a situation where a tender is submitted by a group of economic operators
(natural or legal persons). Joint tenders may include subcontractors in addition to the
members of the group.
In case of joint tender, all members of the group assume joint and several liabilities towards
the Contracting Authority for the performance of the contract as a whole, i.e. both financial
and operational liability. Nevertheless, tenderers must designate one of the economic
operators as a single point of contact (the leader) for the Contracting Authority for
administrative and financial aspects as well as operational management of the contract.
1 See http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_E/gproc_e/gp_gpa_e.htm
2 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public
procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65).
5
After the award, the Contracting Authority will sign the contract either with all members of
the group, or with the leader on behalf of all members of the group, authorised by the other
members via powers of attorney.
1.5. Subcontracting
Subcontracting is permitted but the contractor will retain full liability towards the Contracting
Authority for performance of the contract as a whole.
Tenderers are required to identify all subcontractors whose share of the contract is above
10 % and whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria.
During contract performance, the change of any subcontractor identified in the tender or
additional subcontracting will be subject to prior written approval of the Contracting
Authority.
1.6. Structure and content of the tender
The tenders must be presented as follows:
Part A: Identification of the tenderer (see section 1.7)
Part B: Non-exclusion (see section 4.1)
Part C: Selection (see section 4.2)
Part D: Technical offer
The technical offer must cover all aspects and tasks required in the technical
specifications and provide all the information needed to apply the award criteria.
Offers deviating from the requirements or not covering all requirements may be
rejected on the basis of non-compliance with the tender specifications and will not be
evaluated.
Part E: Financial offer
The price for the tender must be quoted in euro. Tenderers from countries outside the
euro zone have to quote their prices in euro. The price quoted may not be revised in
line with exchange rate movements. It is for the tenderer to bear the risks or the
benefits deriving from any variation.
Prices must be quoted free of all duties, taxes and other charges, including VAT, as
the European Union is exempt from such charges under Articles 3 and 4 of the
Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Union. The amount of
VAT may be shown separately.
The quoted price must be a fixed amount which includes all charges (including travel
and subsistence). Travel and subsistence expenses are not refundable separately.
6
1.7. Identification of the tenderer
The tender must include a cover letter signed by an authorised representative presenting the
name of the tenderer (including all entities in case of joint tender) and identified
subcontractors if applicable, and the name of the single contact point (leader) in relation to
this procedure.
In case of joint tender, the cover letter must be signed either by an authorised representative
for each member, or by the leader authorised by the other members with powers of attorney.
The signed powers of attorney must be included in the tender as well. Subcontractors that are
identified in the tender must provide a letter of intent signed by an authorised representative
stating their willingness to provide the services presented in the tender and in line with the
present tender specifications.
All tenderers (including all members of the group in case of joint tender) must provide a
signed Legal Entity Form with its supporting evidence. The form is available on:
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm
Tenderers that are already registered in the Contracting Authority’s accounting system (i.e.
they have already been direct contractors) must provide the form but are not obliged to
provide the supporting evidence.
The tenderer (or the leader in case of joint tender) must provide a Financial Identification
Form with its supporting documents. Only one form per tender should be submitted. No form
is needed for subcontractors and other members of the group in case of joint tender. The form
is available on: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/index_en.cfm
The tenderer (and each member of the group in case of joint tender) must declare whether it is
a Small or Medium Size Enterprise in accordance with Commission Recommendation
2003/361/EC. This information is used for statistical purposes only.
2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
2.1. General background
The new regulatory framework3 for Cohesion Policy Funds i.e. European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the
3 The regulatory framework for the 2014-2020 programming period comprises the following Regulations:
- Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013
laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European
Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European
Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime
and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (hereafter CPR).
- Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on
the European Regional Development Fund and on specific provisions concerning the Investment for
growth and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 (hereafter ERDF Regulation).
- Regulation (EU) No 1300/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on
the Cohesion Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006 (hereafter CF Regulation).
7
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime
and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) (jointly referred to as the European Structural and Investment
Funds (ESIF)) as agreed by the co-legislators has greatly reinforced the possibility to make
use of innovative financial instruments for the 2014-2020 period. The legal framework sets
out detailed rules on how Member States and regions can make use of ESIF to support equity,
guarantee and loan instruments across a full range of the policy's activities. These instruments
offer significant potential to provide flexible and market driven instruments in areas where
there is a market failure or suboptimal investment situation but where potential investments
are financially viable. These instruments may also provide for revolving and leverage effects.
In view of the increased share of resources delivered through financial instruments, it became
necessary to enhance the transparency of the implementation process and to ensure
appropriate monitoring by the Member States and by the Commission.
In line with Article 46(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1303/2013 (hereafter CPR) the
managing authorities shall send to the Commission a specific report covering the operations
comprising the financial instruments as an annex to the annual implementation report (AIR)4.
For the purpose of assessing the performance of financial instruments, the Commission is
required to collect and aggregate the information sent by the managing authorities and
provide summaries of data on the progress made in financing and implementing the financial
instruments as required by Article 46(4) of the CPR:
"Each year, starting in 2016, the Commission shall, within six months of the deadline
for the submission of the annual implementation reports referred to in Article 111(1)
for the ERDF, ESF and the Cohesion Fund, Article 75 of the EAFRD Regulation for
the EAFRD, and the relevant provisions of Funds-specific rules for the EMFF,
provide summaries of the data on the progress made in financing and implementing
the financial instruments, sent by the managing authorities in accordance with this
Article. Those summaries shall be transmitted to the European Parliament and the
Council and shall be made public."
For the purposes of the specific annex on financial instruments referred to in Article 46(1)
CPR, the managing authorities use the model set out in Annex I of the Commission
Implementing Regulation No (EU) 821/20145. The reporting model ensures that a specific
- Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on
the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 (hereafter ESF
Regulation)
- Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on
support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and repealing
Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (hereafter EARDF Regulation).
- Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003,
(EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of
the European Parliament and of the Council (hereafter EMFF Regulation).
4 Starting with 2016, the reports will be sent by the 31 May, with the exception of 2017, 2019 and the final
report, which will be submitted by 30 June.
5 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 821/2014 of 28 July 2014 laying down rules for the
application of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards,
detailed arrangements for the transfer and management of programme contributions, the reporting on
8
report covering the operations comprising financial instruments and annexed to the annual
and final implementation reports includes all categories of information required in Article
46(2) CPR and that they are reported in a consistent and comparable way and can be
consolidated and aggregated.
2.2. Objectives
The objective of this action is to prepare the summaries6 of data for 2016, 2017 and 2018 on the
progress made in financing and implementing financial instruments supported by ERDF and CF
in the programming period 2014-2020.
2.3. Scope of the contract
This contract will cover the preparation of the summaries of data for 2016, 2017 and 2018 on
Financial instruments supported from ERDF and CF including the analysis of the information
on financial instruments according to Article 46 CPR and information in the financial report
(Article 112 CPR) as concerns FIs supported by ERDF and CF [see Annex 2 Commission
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 821/2014 Annex I model for reporting on financial
instruments and Annex 3 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1011/2014 Annex II
Model for transmission of financial data Table 2].
2.4. Tasks
The tasks and deliverables of this service contract concern only ERDF and CF.
Task 1: Preparation of the annual summaries of data as required by Article 46(4) CPR
Article 46(4) of the CPR stipulates that each year starting in 2016, the Commission shall,
within six months of the deadline for the submission of the AIR, provide summary of the
ERDF and CF data on the progress made in financing and implementing the financial
instruments (hereafter the FI summary of ERDF and CF data), sent by the managing
authorities in accordance with Article 46 CPR. Each year, the FI summary of ERFD and CF
data will be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council and it will be made
public.
By 30 June 2017, 31 May 2018 and 30 June 2019 Managing Authorities have to submit their
information on financial instruments for the previous year through SFC2014. The structured
data consist of cumulative data (mainly numerical) per financial instrument at the level of
priority axes. The contracting authority will provide the data to the contractor as specified in
point 2.5.
financial instruments, technical characteristics of information and communication measures for operations
and the system to record and store data
6 This refers to three years’ contract.
9
The contractor will analyse information on financial instruments provided in accordance with
Article 46 CPR and present the information in the format according to the outline of the
summary of data to be provided by the Contracting Authority.
The tasks of the contractor are as follows:
1) Verify received data per Member State including the plausibility check7 of the data on
FIs per programme.
This verification of the data shall include:
Year by year comparison of data;
Cross-check of the information in the Annex of the AIR with the information
provided in the financial data of 31 January according to Article 112 of the CPR;
Flagging up problems of incomplete, incoherent and implausible information;
provide a report on findings by Member State and OP, identifying and grouping
common and systematic errors (Annex 1 of the FI summary of ERDF and CF
data);
Keeping a logbook of incomplete, incoherent and implausible data which had to be
manipulated for the purpose of analysis;
2) Aggregate, group and provide cumulative data;
3) Calculate indicators on the progress of the implementation of financial instruments;
4) Analyse and interpret data;
5) Draft a descriptive part summarising the overall progress;
6) Prepare graphical presentation and format data tables ready for publishing;
7) Prepare FI country factsheets (annex 2 of the FI summary of ERDF and CF data);
8) Prepare country sheets on implementation of financial instruments per MS (annex 3 of
the FI summary of ERDF and CF data);
9) Building a database of FI data year by year progressively: build an electronic database
to store information; this should be user friendly for year on year comparison. The
database will have to be compatible with Commission software and it should be easy
to extract the data, and to make queries.
7 The plausibility check should include check for implausible reporting and violation of basic principles,
including based on the reporting exercise of 2015 data, for example, subtotals larger than totals; higher
amounts invested in final recipients than the amounts paid to FI; amounts committed to FI, but no funding
agreements signed; number of contracts signed lower than the number of investments made; FI reported as
EU-level instruments, when it is not the case; commitments by thematic objectives exceed the commitments
according to the funding agreements; no information reported concerning the ex-ante assessment, however
data provided on commitments; amounts committed in the funding agreements, but no funding agreement
signed; disbursement made to final recipients, but no funding agreement signed; payments to final
recipients, but no payments made to FI; no amounts of investments in final recipients, but number of
investments provided; inconsistency in reporting information about products at the level of the fund and at
the level of the product; the body implementing the FI is reported but no selection has started; in relation to
guarantee instrument, there is no information about the amounts set aside for guarantees, while there is
information about the loans provided. This list is not exhaustive and the contractor may suggest additional
plausibility checks depending on the quality and coverage of data submitted by the managing authorities.
10
Where comparison with previous years of 2014-2020 programming period is considered
necessary, the contractor shall use the material delivered under the 2016 exercise (the data of
2015 will be provided by the Contracting Authority, as specified in point 2.5) and annual
summaries that will be prepared in 2017, 2018 and 2019 by the contractor.
The tender should propose a methodology to carry out the above task. This should include the
number of days to be spent, the preparatory work and the outline of the delivery of the task.
Task 2: Preparation of a stock-taking paper
The contractor shall take stock of what went well and can be improved, main findings, where
appropriate improve methodology for analysing data and propose changes to the Q&A and
annotated reporting template.
During the lifecycle of the service the contractor shall build up a reference log on
systemic issues and errors and maintain a list of typical errors and identify the ones
for which the checks could be automated. The contractor shall improve the
methodology for effective and efficient analysis of the data on financial instruments.
The tender should propose a methodology to carry out the above task. This should include the
number of days to be spent, the preparatory work and the outline of the delivery of the task.
2.5. Input by the Contracting Authority
The Contracting Authority will provide the contractor with:
Data on financial instruments under Article 46 CPR submitted via SFC for 2015, 2016,
2017 and 2018:
o the data of 2016 will be provided as soon as possible after 30/06/2017 and no
later than 15/07/2017;
o the data of 2017 will be provided as soon as possible after 31/05/2018 and no
later than 15/06/2018;
o the data of 2018 will be provided by the 30/06/2019 and no later than 15/07/2019.
o the data of 2015 will be made available after the kick-off meeting;
The outline for the FI summary of data;
The FI summary of ERDF and CF data prepared in 2016;
Q&A;
Annotated reporting template;
Financial data according to Article 112 CPR:
o the financial data of 31/01 will be available to the contractor as soon as possible
and at the latest together with the data on FI under Article 46 CPR;
Financial instruments data analysis spreadsheets used for the summaries of data in 2016;
Relevant legislative texts.
2.6. The methodology
The contractor is expected to use a range of methods suitable to carrying out the tasks. The
appropriate mix, which shall be described in the tender, shall include quantitative (especially
statistical) analysis and reliability checks, data manipulation, database design and development.
11
2.7. Work organisation:
As part of the tender documentation, the team to be involved in this contract should be
identified, describing their skills and qualifications, quantifying the input of each member of
the team in terms of days and explaining the distribution of tasks between the different team
members involved. The attention of tenderers is drawn to the need for strong co-ordination,
guidance and quality control which will be needed for the successful delivery of this contract.
Due to the nature of the contract regular meetings with DG REGIO officers are needed in
order to monitor and discuss progress of the tasks. A maximum of 5 meetings (e.g. kick-off,
progress meetings, presentations) is foreseen each year. The meetings should be organised in
Brussels. Attendance via video-conferencing could be considered (with the exception of the
first and last meeting). The final schedule of the activities and the meetings to discuss the
work programme of each year will be decided at the kick-off meeting.
The kick-off meeting will consist of a general dialogue regarding the strategy and the methods
planned for preparation of the annual summaries. The Contracting Authority reserves the right
to further clarify during this meeting the deliverables taking into account the actual time of
the kick-off meeting vis-à-vis the reporting deadlines.
Approximately one month before the deadline indicated in point 2.9 (1) for submitting each
annual summary of data by the contractor, the contractor is required to attend a briefing
meeting in the premises of the Commission in Brussels.
Each year, after the approval of all the deliverables under task 1 by the Commission, the
contractor will be expected to give an oral presentation of the annual summary, highlighting
main results and conclusions. This presentation will take place in Brussels and within the
Commission premises. Costs relating to the organisation of this presentation and of any other
meeting requiring travelling will be covered by the overall budget of the contract.
2.8. Time schedule
The following table gives a synoptic view of the deliverables along with the related timetable:
Timing Deliverable /
Meeting
Output
Beginning July 2017 M1 Kick-off meeting with the Commission services
2017 EXERCISE – The 2017 FI Summary of ERDF and CF data
Mid July 2017 M2 Meeting to discuss 2017 work plan and Q&A
Beginning
September 2017
D1 2017 Draft annual summary of data, annexes and a
detailed data table on financial instruments
Beginning October
2017
M3 Meeting to discuss 2017 draft annual summary of data
with the Commission services
End October 2017 D2 2017 Final version of summary of data and annexes;
detailed data table on financial instruments if any
update
Mid November 2017 M4 Oral presentation of the 2017 FI summary of ERDF
and CF data
End December 2017 D3 2017 stock taking paper
12
2018 EXERCISE – The 2018 FI Summary of ERDF and CF data
May 2018 M5 Meeting to discuss 2018 work plan
Beginning August
2018
D4 2018 Draft annual summary of data, annexes and a
detailed data table on financial instruments
Beginning
September 2018
M6 Meeting to discuss 2018 draft annual summary of data
with the Commission services
End September 2018 D5 2018 Final version of annual summary of data and
annexes; detailed data table on financial instruments if
any update
Mid October 2018 M7 Oral presentation of the 2018 FI summary of ERDF
and CF data
End November 2018 D6 2018 stock taking paper
2019 EXERCISE – The 2019 FI Summary of ERDF and CF data
June 2019 M8 Meeting to discuss 2019 work plan
Beginning
September 2019
D7 2019 Draft annual summary of data , annexes and a
detailed data table on financial instruments
Beginning October
2019
M9 Meeting to discuss 2019 draft summary of data with
the Commission services
End October 2019 D8 2019 Final version of summary of data and annexes;
detailed data table on financial instruments if any
update
Mid November 2019 M10 Oral presentation of the 2019 FI summary of ERDF
and CF data
Mid December 2019 D9 2019 stock taking paper
Mid December 2019 D10 Database and handover document
2.9. Deliverables
In the period 2017-2019, the contractor is expected to provide the following deliverables:
1) Annual summaries of data covering task 1. The contractor shall prepare in total 3 annual
summaries with the following deadlines:
The 2017 FI summary of ERDF and CF data (Situation as at 31/12/2016) – by 31
October 2017;
The 2018 FI summary of ERDF and CF data (Situation as at 31/12/2017)– by 30
September 2018 and;
The 2019 FI summary of ERDF and CF data (Situation as at 31/12/2018) – by 31
October 2019.
The summary shall include:
Annex 1: Report on incomplete, incoherent and implausible data for the respective
year;
Annex 2: FIs country factsheets per Member State including a legend (data on
financial instruments per MS presented in a table format/excel or compatible format,
ready for publication);
13
Annex 3: Country fiches on financial instruments (a short summary of 1 page,
including a graph, on implementation of financial instruments per country).
Each summary shall be no more than 75 pages without annexes. It shall also include an
abstract of no more than 200 words and a publishable executive summary of maximum 6
pages, in English, French and German. It shall finally include a power-point presentation
summarising the results and conclusions.
Detailed data table on the financial instruments for all the member states shall be also
provided in a structured electronic form (unlocked excel table for further use and
modification).
2) Annual stock-taking papers - On annual basis at the end of each year and where necessary
improve the methodology for analysing data and propose changes to questions and answers
and the annotated reporting template. The stock-taking paper should contain the logbook of
manipulations of data made.
3) The database built up over the years and handover document (max 30 pages plus annexes)
containing the documentation of the database and describing the methodology that has been
applied. This document should contain suggested improvements to the annual summaries of
data (in 2019).
All the different deliverables shall be submitted in English in an easily accessible style. French
and German versions have to be provided for the Executive Summary and the abstract only.
Each deliverable will be examined by the Commission, which may ask for additional
modifications or propose changes in order to redirect the work if necessary. Deliverables must
be approved by the Commission.
The specific deadline for each deliverable is specified above and starts on the date of the entry
into force of the contract. The preparation of the annual summaries envisages several meetings in
Brussels in relation to the deliverables as indicated in point 2.7.
All data and graphs used in the reports should be submitted to the Commission separately and
need to be provided in MS Excel format or equivalent application compatible with MS Office.
2.10. Volume of the contract
Maximum EUR 300.000 (lump sum, including fees, travel expenses and other costs).
14
3. CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND GRAPHIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE
DELIVERABLES
The Contractor must deliver the summaries and other deliverables as indicated below.
3.1. Content
3.1.1. Summary of the ERDF and CF data on the progress made in financing and
implementing financial instruments in 2014-2020
The annual summary of data must include:
- an abstract of no more than 200 words and an executive summary of maximum 6 pages,
in English, German and French;
- the following disclaimer:
“The information and views set out in this report are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not
guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor
any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which
may be made of the information contained therein.”
3.1.2. Publishable executive summary
The publishable executive summary must be provided in English, German and French and must
include:
- the following disclaimer:
“The information and views set out in this report are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not
guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor
any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which
may be made of the information contained therein.”
3.1.3. Requirements for publication on Internet
The Commission is committed to making online information as accessible as possible to the
largest possible number of users including those with visual, auditory, cognitive or physical
disabilities, and those not having the latest technologies. The Commission supports the Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 of the W3C.
For full details on the Commission policy on accessibility for information providers, see:
http://ec.europa.eu/ipg/standards/accessibility/index_en.htm
For the publishable versions of the study, abstract and executive summary, the contractor
must respect the W3C guidelines for accessible pdf documents as provided at:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/ .
15
3.2. Structure
The outline for the summary of the data will be provided by the Contracting Authority.
3.3. Graphic requirements
The contractor must deliver the annual summaries of data and all publishable deliverables in
full compliance with the corporate visual identity of the European Commission, by applying
the graphic rules set out in the European Commission's Visual Identity Manual8, including its
logo. The graphic rules, the Manual and further information are available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/services/visual_identity/index_en.htm
A simple Word template will be provided to the contractor after contract signature. The
contractor must fill in the cover page in accordance with the instructions provided in the
template. The use of templates for studies is exclusive to European Commission's contractors.
No template will be provided to tenderers while preparing their tenders.
4. EVALUATION AND AWARD
The evaluation is based solely on the information provided in the submitted tender. It involves
the following:
Verification of non-exclusion of tenderers on the basis of the exclusion criteria
Selection of tenderers on the basis of selection criteria
Verification of compliance with the minimum requirements set out in these tender
specifications
Evaluation of tenders on the basis of the award criteria
The Contracting Authority may reject abnormally low tenders, in particular if it established
that the tenderer or a subcontractor does not comply with applicable obligations in the fields
of environmental, social and labour law.
The tenders will be assessed in the order indicated above. Only tenders meeting the
requirements of one step will pass on to the next step.
4.1. Verification of non-exclusion
All tenderers must provide a declaration on honour (see Annex 1), signed and dated by an
authorised representative, stating that they are not in one of the situations of exclusion listed
in that declaration on honour.
In case of joint tender, each member of the group must provide a declaration on honour
signed by an authorised representative.
8 The Visual Identity Manual of the European Commission is available upon request. Requests should be
made to the following e-mail address: [email protected]
16
In case of subcontracting, subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 10% and whose
capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria must provide a declaration on honour
signed by an authorised representative.
The Contracting Authority reserves the right to verify whether the successful tenderer is in
one of the situations of exclusion by requiring the supporting documents listed in the
declaration of honour.
The successful tenderer must provide the documents mentioned as supporting evidence in the
declaration on honour before signature of the contract and within a deadline given by the
contracting authority. This requirement applies to each member of the group in case of joint
tender and to all subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 10% and whose capacity
is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria.
The obligation to submit supporting evidence does not apply to international organisations.
A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not
required to submit the documentary evidence if it has already been submitted for another
procurement procedure and provided the documents were issued not more than one year
before the date of their request by the contracting authority and are still valid at that date. In
such cases, the tenderer must declare on its honour that the documentary evidence has already
been provided in a previous procurement procedure, indicate the reference of the procedure
and confirm that that there has been no change in its situation.
A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not
required to submit a specific document if the contracting authority can access the document in
question on a national database free of charge.
4.2. Selection criteria
Tenderers must prove their legal, regulatory, economic, financial, technical and professional
capacity to carry out the work subject to this procurement procedure.
The tenderer may rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of the
links which it has with them. It must in that case prove to the Contracting Authority that it
will have at its disposal the resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example
by producing an undertaking on the part of those entities to place those resources at its
disposal.
The tender must include the proportion of the contract that the tenderer intends to subcontract.
4.2.1. Declaration and evidence
The tenderers (and each member of the group in case of joint tender) and subcontractors
whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria must provide the declaration on
honour (see Annex 1), signed and dated by an authorised representative, stating that they fulfil
the selection criteria applicable to them individually. For the criteria applicable to the tenderer
as a whole the tenderer (sole tenderer or leader in case of joint tender) must provide the
declaration on honour stating that the tenderer, including all members of the group in case of
joint tender and including subcontractors if applicable, fulfils the selection criteria for which a
consolidated assessment will be carried out.
17
This declaration is part of the declaration used for exclusion criteria (see section 4.1) so only
one declaration covering both aspects should be provided by each concerned entity.
The Contracting Authority will evaluate selection criteria on the basis of the declarations on
honour. Nevertheless, it reserves the right to require evidence of the legal and regulatory,
financial and economic and technical and professional capacity of the tenderers at any time
during the procurement procedure and contract performance. In such case the tenderer must
provide the requested evidence without delay. The Contracting Authority may reject the
tender if the requested evidence is not provided in due time.
After contract award, the successful tenderer will be required to provide the evidence
mentioned below before signature of the contract and within a deadline given by the
contracting authority. This requirement applies to each member of the group in case of joint
tender and to subcontractors whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria.
A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not
required to submit the documentary evidence if it has already been submitted for another
procurement procedure and provided the documents were issued not more than one year
before the date of their request by the contracting authority and are still valid at that date. In
such cases, the tenderer must declare on its honour that the documentary evidence has already
been provided in a previous procurement procedure, indicate the reference of the procedure
and confirm that that there has been no change in its situation.
A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not
required to submit a specific document if the contracting authority can access the document in
question on a national database free of charge.
4.2.2. Legal and regulatory capacity
Tenderers must prove that they are allowed to pursue the professional activity necessary to
carry out the work subject to this call for tenders. The tenderer (including each member of the
group in case of joint tender) must provide the following information in its tender if it has not
been provided with the Legal Entity Form:
- For legal persons, a legible copy of the notice of appointment of the persons authorised to
represent the tenderer in dealings with third parties and in legal proceedings, or a copy of the
publication of such appointment if the legislation applicable to the legal person requires such
publication. Any delegation of this authorisation to another representative not indicated in the
official appointment must be evidenced.
- For natural persons, if required under applicable law, a proof of registration on a
professional or trade register or any other official document showing the registration number.
4.2.3. Economic and financial capacity criteria
The tenderer must have the necessary economic and financial capacity to perform this
contract until its end. In order to prove their capacity, the tenderer must comply with the
following selection criteria.
18
- Criterion F1: Turnover of the last two financial years for which accounts have been closed
above EUR 500,000.00; this criterion applies to the tenderer as a whole, i.e. the combined
capacity of all members of a group in case of a joint tender.
Evidence (to be provided on request):
- Copy of the profit and loss accounts for the years 2014 and 2015 for which accounts have
been closed from each concerned legal entity;
- Failing that, appropriate statements from banks.
If, for some exceptional reason which the Contracting Authority considers justified, a tenderer
is unable to provide one or other of the above documents, it may prove its economic and
financial capacity by any other document which the Contracting Authority considers
appropriate. In any case, the Contracting Authority must at least be notified of the exceptional
reason and its justification. The Commission reserves the right to request any other document
enabling it to verify the tenderer's economic and financial capacity.
4.2.4. Technical and professional capacity criteria and evidence
A. Criteria relating to tenderers
Tenderers (in case of a joint tender the combined capacity of all members of the group and
identified subcontractors) must comply with the criteria listed below. The evidence must be
provided only on request.
The project references indicated below consist in a list of relevant services provided in the
past three years, with the sums, dates and clients, public or private, accompanied by
statements issued by the clients.
- Criterion A1: The tenderer must prove experience in the field of data collection, statistical
analyses, drafting reports and recommendations with at least 3 projects delivered in this field
in the last three years. Ongoing assignments with completed annual deliverables will be taken
into account as well.
Evidence A1: the tenderer must provide references for 3 projects delivered in these fields in
the last three years with a minimum value for each project of € 100,000.00.
- Criterion A2: The tenderer must prove capacity to work (read and communicate) in
English.
Evidence A2: the tenderer must provide references for 3 projects delivered in the last three
years showing the necessary language coverage.
- Criterion A3: The tenderer must prove capacity to draft reports in English.
Evidence A3: the tenderer must provide one document of at least 10 pages (report, study,
etc.) in this language that it has drafted and published or delivered to a client in the last two
years. The verification will be carried out on 5 pages of the document.
19
B. Criteria relating to the team delivering the service:
The team delivering the service should include, as a minimum, the following profiles.
Evidence will consist in CVs of the team responsible to deliver the service. Each CV should
indicate the intended function in the delivery of the service.
B1 - Project Manager: At least 6 years' experience in project management, including
overseeing project delivery, quality control of delivered service, client orientation and conflict
resolution experience with experience in management of team of at least 5 people.
Evidence: CV
B2 - Statistical analyst: At least 6 years of professional experience. Relevant higher
education degree or equivalent professional experience and at least 3 years' professional
experience in statistical analysis of data.
Evidence: CV
B3 - Expert in EU cohesion policy and ESI Funds: At least 6 years of professional
experience. Relevant higher education degree or equivalent professional experience and at
least 3 years' professional experience in the field of financial instruments.
Evidence: CV
B4 - Language quality check: at least 2 members of the team should have native-level
language skills in English or C2 level in the Common European Framework for Reference for
Languages9 in English.
Evidence: a language certificate or past relevant experience.
The contractor may use additional team members other than those required above as a
minimum. Should this be the case, the CVs of the experts/professionals should be presented in
the tender.
4.3. Award criteria
The contract will be awarded based on the most economically advantageous tender, according
to the 'best price-quality ratio' award method. The quality of the tender will be evaluated
based on the following criteria. The maximum total quality score is 100 points.
Quality of the proposed methodology (50 points – minimum score 50%)
- This criterion will assess the appropriateness of the methodology set out in the tender
and of the specific methodology described to address tasks 1 and 2 (see pg. 9);
9 See http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Cadre1_en.asp
20
- The completeness, the clarity and the relevance of the technical approach in respect of
the tasks described in the tender specifications as well as the degree to which all
relevant issues are covered;
- Appropriate design of the technical approach as to produce sound analysis, credible
findings and valid conclusions.
Tenderers should give a thorough description of the approach proposed to attain the
Commission's objectives and to provide the requested outputs.
Organisation of the work and resources (30 points – minimum score 50%)
This criterion will assess how the roles and responsibilities of the proposed team and of the
different economic operators (in case of joint tenders, including subcontractors if applicable)
are distributed for each task. It also assesses the global allocation of time and resources to the
project and to each task or deliverable, and whether this allocation is adequate for the work.
The tender should provide details on the allocation of time and human resources and the
rationale behind the choice of this allocation.
Quality control measures (20 points – minimum score 50%)
This criterion will assess the quality control system applied to the service foreseen in this
tender specification concerning the quality of the deliverables, the language quality check,
and continuity of the service in case of absence of the member of the team. The quality
system should be detailed in the tender and specific to the tasks at hand; a generic quality
system will result in a low score.
Tenders must score minimum 50% for each criterion and minimum 70 % in total. Tenders
that do not reach the minimum quality thresholds will be rejected and will not be ranked.
4.4. Ranking of tenders
The contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, i.e. the tender
offering the best price-quality ratio determined in accordance with the formula below. A
weight of 60/40 is given to quality and price.
score for tender X =
cheapest price
price of tender X
* 100 * price weighting (in %)
+ total quality score (out of 100)
for all award criteria of tender X *
quality criteria weighting (in %)
The tender ranked first after applying the formula will be awarded the contract.
21
5. ANNEXES
Annex 1 - Declaration on honour
Annex 2 - Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 821/2014 laying down rules for
the application of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the
Council as regards detailed arrangements for the transfer and management of programme
contributions, the reporting on financial instruments, technical characteristics of information
and communication measures for operations and the system to record and store data:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2014.223.01.0007.01.ENG
Annex 3 - Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1011/2014 laying down the format
of the report (detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European
Parliament and of the Council as regards the models for submission of certain information to
the Commission and the detailed rules concerning the exchanges of information between
beneficiaries and managing authorities, certifying authorities, audit authorities and
intermediate bodies):
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2014.286.01.0001.01.ENG