Request for Expression of Interest

Provision of training and mentoring services for Lead and Technical Assessors for ISO/IEC 17020 (Inspection Bodies), ISO/IEC 17025 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and ISO 15189 (Medical Testing Laboratories)

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Reference Number: SADC/TIFI/15/001

Request for Services Title: Provision of training and mentoring services for Lead and Technical Assessors for ISO/IEC 17020 (Inspection Bodies), ISO/IEC 17025 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and ISO 15189 (Medical Testing Laboratories)

1. Southern African Development Community (SADC) is inviting Individual Consultants to submit their CV and Financial Proposal for the provision of training and mentoring services for Lead and Technical Assessors for ISO/IEC 17020 (Inspection Bodies), ISO/IEC 17025 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and ISO 15189 (Medical Testing Laboratories).The Terms of Reference defining the minimum technical requirements for these services are attached as Annex 1 to this Request for Expression of Interest.

2. Individual Consultants shall not be eligible for award of this assignment where :

a) they are being bankrupt or wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into arrangements with creditors, have suspended business activities, are being subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are being in any similar situations arising from a similar procedures provided for in the national legislation or regulations of the SADC member states;

b) they have been convicted of offences concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which haves the force of res judicata; (i.e. against which no appeal is possible);

c) they have been declared guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which SADC Secretariat can justify;

d) they have not fulfilled obligations related to the payments of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those countries where the contract is to be performed;

e) they have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the SADC Secretariat' financial interests; or

f) they are being currently subject to an administrative penalty.

3 Your Expression of Interest must be presented as per Standard Expression of Interest Forms attached as Annex 2 to this REOI in English language and be accompanied by copies of all the indicated supporting documents. If the supporting documents are not in English, these shall be accompanied by a certified translation into English.

4 . Your Expression of Interest should be clearly marked “Provision of training and mentoring services for candidate lead and technical assessors for ISO/IEC 17020 (Inspection Bodies), ISO/IEC 17025 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and ISO 15189 (Medical Testing Laboratories) and must be deposited in the tender box located at the reception of the SADC Secretariat (address below).

The Head Procurement Unit

SADC Secretariat

Private Bag 0095

Gaborone

Botswana

5 The deadline for submission of your proposal, to the addressed indicated in Paragraph 4 is: Friday, 4th September 2015 at 14:00hrs local time

6 Expressions of Interest submitted by E-mail “are” acceptable and have to be sent to: . Clearly indicate the contract name and reference in the subject line

7 Expressions of Interest and CVs will be evaluated against the following criteria.

Criteria / Maximum points allocated
Qualifications & Experience / 20
General professional experience / 30
Specific professional experience / 50
Total / 100

8 Expressions of Interest should be submitted as per the following instructions, and in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the Standard Contract attached as Annex 3 to this REOI:

i) PRICES: The financial proposal shall be inclusive of all expenses deemed necessary by the Individual Consultant for the performance of the contract.

ii) EVALUATION AND AWARD OF THE CONTRACT: Expressions of Interest determined to be formal and technical compliant to the requirement will be evaluated by comparison of their prices. An Expression of Interest is considered compliant to the requirements if: fulfils the formal requirements (see Paragraphs 2,3,4,5,6 and 7 above), has received minimum 80 points at the technical evaluation, and the financial proposal does not exceed the maximum available budget for the contract. The award will be made to the applicant who obtained the highest technical score and submitted administrative and technical compliant Expression of Interest.

iii) VALIDITY OF THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: Your Expression of Interest should be valid for a period of 90 days from deadline for submission indicated in Paragraph 5 above.

9 The assignment is expected to commence within Two (2) weeks from the signature of the contract.

10 Additional request for information and clarifications can be request, no later than 10 working days prior to deadline indicated in the paragraph 5 above, from:

Procuring entity: SADC Secretariat

Contact person: Mr Gift Mike Gwaza

Telephone: +267 3951863

Fax +267 3181070

E-mail:

With copy:

ANNEXES:

ANNEX 1: Terms of Reference

ANNEX 2: Expression of Interest Forms

ANNEX 3: Standard Contract for Individual Consultants

Sincerely,

Gift Mike Gwaza MCIPS

Procurement Unit

Page 9 of 29

ANNEX 1: Terms of Reference

SADC REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION SUPPORT PROGRAMME (REIS)

Terms of Reference for the provision of training and mentoring services for Lead and Technical Assessors for ISO/IEC 17020 (Inspection Bodies), ISO/IEC 17025 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and ISO 15189 (Medical Testing Laboratories)

1 Background

The Regional Economic Integration Support (REIS) programme is designed to assist SADC to implement its mandate, given to the SADC Secretariat, to effect regional integration in the economic and trade sectors. This falls within the 10th EDF SADC-EU response strategy in the area of regional economic integration, which aims to help promote economic integration and the reduction of poverty in the SADC region, through enhanced cooperation between Member States.

The programme will strengthen the capacity of the Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI) Directorate of SADC towards implementation of the Finance and Investment and Trade Protocols, conclusion of negotiations for the Trade in Services Protocol, and conclusion and implementation of the SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, and to strengthen overall programme coordination and results-oriented performance management.

The overall objective of the Programme is to promote sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in the SADC Region. This objective corresponds to the general objective of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the various Protocols that constitute the basis of SADC’s regional integration Agenda.

The Specific Objective of the Programme is to create an enabling environment through the SADC Secretariat to enhance the movement of goods and services within SADC, facilitate investment, and secure World Trade Organization (WTO) compatible market access arrangements between SADC EPA countries and the EU.

The REIS programme focuses its assistance on the following Key Results Areas (KRAs):

· KRA1 - Support provided to the implementation of the Finance and Investment Protocol;

· KRA2 - Support provided to the implementation of the regional trade agenda;

· KRA3 - Support provided to the negotiation and implementation of the SADC EPA; and

· KRA4 - Results-oriented programme performance management capacities strengthened

As part of the need to support the implementation of the regional trade agenda (KRA2), SADC Secretariat is assisting in building the capacity of SADCAS, SADC’s multi-economy accreditation body, by training candidate lead and technical assessors for Inspection Bodies and Medical Laboratories. .Upon successful completion of the course and mentoring/coaching, candidates will be expected to undertake assessments on behalf of SADCAS when called upon to do so.

2 Description of the Assignment

2.1 Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to support the implementation of the regional trade agenda (KRA2) by facilitating;

· the training of Lead and Technical Assessors on ISO/IEC 17020 (Inspection Bodies),

· the training of Lead and Technical Assessors on ISO 15189 (Medical Testing Laboratories), and

· the mentoring of Lead and Technical Assessors on ISO/IEC 17020 (Inspection bodies), ISO 15189 (Medical Testing Laboratories), ISO/IEC 17025 (Testing Laboratories),

· A series of training and mentoring sessions is planned in 2015/2016 financial year.

2.2 Submission of proposals

Interested parties are required to submit details of a proposed programme that will meet the requirements of these terms of reference as specified in Section 5 and as outlined below.

2.2.1 Training of Lead and Technical Assessors

The training sessions on ISO/IEC 17020 and ISO 15189 are expected to be in two sessions. The first session in each case will be a five day training to cover the standard and assessing techniques. A follow up session in each case will be a three day training including training on drafting of non-conformances, root cause analysis and evaluation of corrective actions on vertical assessments. The proposal is therefore expected to include:

· A detailed programme that lists the activities to be undertaken and presented in both the FIVE day and THREE day ISO/IEC 17020 and ISO 15189 based training for 20 candidate Lead and Technical Assessors for each standard;

· Detailed and ready-to-use training materials, which might include as necessary: PowerPoint presentations, graphics, hand-outs, questionnaires, aides-memoires, notes or other materials to enable the training to be held with minimal technical intervention by the organisers. All materials required for the training must be provided to the candidates by the supplier;

· A copy of the standard (ISO/IEC 17020 or ISO 15189) for each of the candidates must be supplied. French and Portuguese copies of the appropriate standard must be provided to candidates whose home language is not English. The exact numbers will be confirmed once the candidates are selected;

· All materials specifically developed and supplied for the training will become the property of the SADC Secretariat, which shall hold the copyright;

· An examination administered at the end of the training to determine the candidates’ acquired level of understanding;

· The training should address all the main elements of ISO/IEC 17020 and ISO 15189; it is expected that the requirements of the standard will be covered in full and that suitable scenarios will be presented to illustrate implementation of the clauses;

· A brief questionnaire aimed at evaluating the quality of the training will be administered by SADC Secretariat at the end of the training;

· In compiling and developing the materials, the experts must familiarise themselves with the SADCAS Management System so that the training can be closely aligned to the requirements of the SADCAS accreditation system.

· Both courses will be offered at the same venue in parallel.

Between training sessions trainees will be expected to undertake practical assignments at their places of work. The assignments will be assessed by the trainer and only qualifying candidates will be allowed to move on to the next stages of training as per the trainers report.

2.2.2 Mentoring of Lead and Technical Assessors

Candidates that have successfully completed the initial five day and three day training must undergo mentoring in order to be registered as a qualified Lead or Technical Assessor by SADCAS. Mentoring includes monitoring of trainees by a supervisor whilst carrying actual assessments. Thirteen trainees will undergo mentoring while nine trainees may however be required to observe actual assessments prior to being mentored. The proposal is therefore expected to include:

· A criteria for evaluating actual assessments performed by trainees; and

· Guidelines for effective observations

The mentoring will be done in accordance with a schedule developed by SADC Secretariat and SADCAS.

The training will be best carried out by the same service provider for continuity and ease of tracking delegates’ progress as well as the identification of any special needs by any of the delegates. For this reason a framework contract is proposed so that all the above activities are facilitated by the same service provider.

2.3 Facilities to be provided by SADC Secretariat

The Bidders are advised that the SADC Secretariat will provide the following:

· A training venue

· Interpretation facilities as required

· Writing pad and pen

· Teas and lunches for candidates and trainer(s)

· Name badges for the candidates

· Accommodation for all candidates

· Travel costs for all selected candidates from Member States serviced by SADCAS

· Travel costs for supervisors while mentoring trainees

· Attendance and participation certificates for the candidates.

3 Project Organization/Management

3.1 Expert(s) Profile Required

The training will be required to cover three accreditation standards: ISO/IEC 17020, ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 15189. The CV of the proposed trainer(s) must clearly demonstrate relevant qualifications and skills, including a proven track record of experience in application of the accreditation standards ISO/IEC 17020, ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO15189; experience gained as a lead or technical assessor; and an understanding of the roles of inspection, testing, certification and accreditation within the Standards, Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Metrology (SQAM) environment of SADC.

Expert‘s evaluation grid

Qualifications and Experience / Points
Qualifications and skills: / 20
- Each Expertmust have a university degree in a technical subject or relevant professional experience of at least five years above the general and specific professional experience required below; / 10
- Professional qualification in business administration, management or leadership would be an added advantage. / 2
- Good communication and presentation skills; / 2
- Computer literacy and familiarity with standard office software packages, email and internet; / 2
- Fluency in English / 1
- Working knowledge of French and/or Portuguese; / 3
General professional experience: / 30
- Minimum 10 years of professional experience in the area of Quality Infrastructure with at least 5 years responsibility for conformity assessment and accreditation activities; / 20
- Capacity building experience in the area of Quality Infrastructure / 5
- Production of professional, smooth flowing and direct to the point reports. / 5
Specific professional experience: / 50
- Knowledge of the SADC region and familiarity with the regional SQAM environment; / 5
- Previous experience in conducting accreditation training at regional or national level in the three accreditation standards specified / 15
- Previous experience in working with Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) preparing for accreditation / 15
- Previous experience in mentoring trainee assessors / 15
Score / 100

3.2 Location and Duration

The training sessions will take place within the SADC region at venues to be determined by the SADC Secretariat for each training session.