Carbon Trust Wales Consultancy Services Framework Agreement;

Carbon Trust Wales Consultancy Services Framework Agreement;

Provision of Consultancy Services Associated with Energy Efficiency Surveys (and Associated Services) to Carbon Trust Wales

OJEU Ref: 2012/S 211-347871 dated 1st November 2012

Minutes from the Bidders Briefing of Tuesday 6th November, incorporating details of the Question and Answer Session

Introduction

Mike Batt CTW General Manager ran through the presentation on Carbon Trust and Carbon Trust Services to be delivered by Consultants next year

Case Studies

David Moore CT Account Manager highlighted a couple of company case studies and highlighted the need for quality relationships and deliverables with clients

Procurement

Malcolm Davies, CT Head of Procurement ran through the process timetable and two stage procurement processes which include;

PQQ questionnaire which will result in a shortlist of applicants that will be invited to tender at the second phase
Once phase two (ITT) submitted in line with timetable (ref slides) will be a 10 day cooling off period for any challenges but we don’t anticipate this happening as the process will be transparent and open throughout.

Final appointment will be 1st April 2013.

Output from the Question and Answer Session

Question / Answer
What in the timetable, does MSP stand for? (Reference Procurement Timetable Slide) / Mandatory Standstill Period
The process will standstill until any challenges have been resolved
Evaluation Criteria? / At ITT stage, we will decide how the evaluation will be framed. For example, we may present some organisational scenarios and ask you how you would respond in each circumstance.
We will ask for details on proven technical ability and information on continual learning and development.
We will ask for information on pricing and may also want more information on financial soundness of the company or sole trader.
There will be two members of the project team (CTW) evaluating tenders with supervision by Malcolm Davies Head of Procurement.
Would previous Carbon Trust Wales case studies be best to use? / You can use any case studies you like as long as they are best examples of capability
Is there a limit on business turnover for applicants? / No, we recognise there will be sole traders to large consultancies applying and we’re more interested in financial stability moving forward.
Can you sub-contract work? / Yes, you can sub-contract as much as you like, but it will be the responsibility of the main company lead to ensure quality and delivery.
As a sub-contractor, can you work for more than one consultancy? / Yes
Do sub-contractors have to be named at PQQ stage? / You don’t have to nominate specifically at PQQ stage but at stage 2 ITT, a list of key subcontractors needs to be included. This can be reviewed in the future if more specialise sub-contractors are applied.
Previously individuals have been accredited, will it now only be companies rather than individuals within that company? / Yes, although you may want to list relevant skills of the people within your organisation.
Sole traders have ‘skills’ rather than a ‘company’ profile how will this be considered? / If YOU are the company, i.e a sole trader with a range of skills, we will be considering your qualification and accreditations alongside your technical capabilities.
Does AEA or Gemserv approval have any part of this procurement process? / No
In the PQQ, will we be specifically selecting consultants against specific services? / We will retain flexibility, but in the ITT we will be asking for responses to generic case studies that you should fit your services and specialisms against.
Should we make sure we provide broad examples of experiences? / Yes
Within the current framework, there are fixed pay rates for certain products, will this remain the same? / We can see no reason to change this arrangement currently.
We will specify exactly how we wish the bidders to frame their commercial submission and present their rates/costs
You mentioned applicants will be scored and any organisation with a score of over 50% will be invited to stage 2 ITT? / In principle, however, we are only inviting a maximum of 60 consultants to phase 2 ITT in the case that there are more than that with a score of over 50%, we’ll take the top 60.
We offer a niche service; will that put us at a disadvantage? / No
Do we know what’s happening with funding in Carbon Trust Wales? / CTW are in constant discussion with Welsh Government scoping out a programme for next year.
How long is the consultant’s framework? / The consultant’s framework is for a period of 4 years, with a review after the first 2 years.
Can companies apply to be part of the delivery framework at a later date? / No, however, there is the opportunity to go off framework for very bespoke pieces of work.
How will quality be maintained? / There will be requirements to provide details on performance management in the ITT and quality of work will be continually monitored by Carbon Trust Wales.
How will we select consultants for individual projects? / Much as we do now, based on the best experience, skills and availability. For larger pieces of work there will be a tender process.
Who or where will be performing admin responsibilities next year? / This will probably be in house (Carbon Trust Wales) but hasn’t yet been finalised.
Will payment terms remain the same? / Yes
Can skills be continually updated within the framework as it is now (so for example a sole trader that has new capabilities) / Yes, but we’d need evidence.
Will there be consultants training? / No, it will be the responsibility of the consultant to keep up to speed with market developments.
CPD required? / No
Does the PQQ have to be returned electronically? / Yes to the dedicated mailbox:

Will you provide a ‘read receipt’? / Yes, we’ll send confirmation to each application sent that we’ve received it.
Where is the PQQ? / It’s on CT website for download now.
Do you provide guidance on how many words should be in the PQQ? / Yes, but keep case studies concise and meaningful.
What value of PI is required? / Carbon Trust required £1,000,000 for the period of the framework.
Are you expecting the level of work being out-sourced to be the same? / Yes, we’d like to grow but at this stage we can’t predict our future funding allocation.
Can we be funded to work in England if also working with a sister company in Wales? / No

PQQ Clarification questions

The following table is contained within question D3 requesting contact details for the referees for the case studies given, can you please confirm what information is required under the following column - Certificate of acceptance/ completion attached Y/N which is highlighted?

Case Study # / Contact name, telephone number and email address of client. / Date of contract award. Include start and finish dates / Contract reference number and description / Certificate of acceptance/ completion attached Y/N / Name of supply chain members.

If a project, that you are submitting for a case study, required that you issued a certificate of completion at the end of the contract or a Certificate of acceptance issued by your client to confirm that all aspects of the project were completed in line with the contract requirements, then a copy of that certificate would be desirable.

I’m looking for some further clarification around the Carbon Trust Wales Consultancy Framework. The PQQ lists several different services that the framework is looking to provide. What is not clear from the PQQ is whether you expect chosen consultants to be able to deliver all aspects of this or if it is acceptable for them to be able to deliver just a selection of the services. I imagine that in the latter situation, it would therefore be a case of tendering for just those contracts that the consultant can deliver, which could include anything from just one service to all of them. Can you please clarify whether this is indeed the case?

It is not a requirement of the consultants to deliver all of the Carbon Trust services. We have many consultants at present who specialise in a few fields and we have some generalists that can comment on all fields. The ITT will list a range of sectors and technologies and each applicant will be asked to grade themselves against each of the headings. However if the applicant chooses to grade themselves with a zero then they would not be considered for any work package that involves that technology or sector.