Invitation to tender No. EP/polDepA/STOA/2005/001Page 1
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1.The European Parliament intends to conclude a framework contract for scientific consultancy services for STOA (Scientific Technology Options Assessment). The contractor should provide the European Parliament with:
assessment of the impacts of introducing or promoting certain technologies,
approaches for solving technology-related problem areas,
policy options for action, and
contributions to a dialogue between the political and scientific communities,
in a manner helpful to Parliament's role.
Studies of technology assessment for STOA are designed to deal with long term, complex and interdisciplinary issues.
2.If you wish to carry out the aforementioned services, the Specifications for which are set out in Annex I, please send your tender, together with the tender form in Annex II, to the following address:
European Parliament
Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union
Directorate A - Economic and Scientific Policy
For the attention of Mrs. Thérèse LEPOUTRE-DUMOULIN
(invitation to tender IP/A/STOA/FWC/2005-28
Office ATR 00 L 030
Rue Wiertz, 60
B-1047 BRUSSELS
Tenders must:
-either be forwarded by registered post, at the latest by 18 August 2005,as evidenced by the postmark;
-or be handed in, no later than noon on the above closing date, to the European Parliament’s Mail Service, which shall issue a receipt giving the date and precise time of handing in. The address of the European Parliament’s Mail Service is:
European Parliament
Mail Service
AltieroSpinelliBuilding, Office 00 F 150
Rue Wiertz, 60
B-1047 BRUSSELS
Tenders and completed tender forms must:
- be sent in triplicate
-be signed by the tenderer or by his duly authorised agent; and
-be submitted in a sealed envelope itself enclosed within a second sealed envelope.
-In addition to the name of the department to which it is addressed, the inner envelope must bear the following:
‘INVITATION TO TENDER No. IP/A/STOA/FWC/2005-28
(Name and address of tenderer)
NOT TO BE OPENED BY THE MAIL SERVICE
OR BY ANY UNAUTHORISED PERSON’
If self-adhesive envelopes are used, they must be sealed with adhesive tape bearing the signature or stamp of the sender.
Tenders sent by means other than by post (private courier companies, for example) will be deemed to have been delivered by hand, and the provisions governing delivery by hand shall apply.
Attention!!!!
Tenders delivered to a national post service and by the national post service handled through their privatised courier service must be regarded as delivered by a private courier company - in other words must be deemed to have been delivered by hand. Therefore, these tenders must be handed in, no later than noon on the above closing date, to the European Parliament’s Mail Service.
For tenders forwarded by registered post, please make sure that they receive a postmark.
3.Tenders shall be valid for six monthsfrom the deadline stated for receipt of tenders.
4.Tenderers’ attention is drawn to the following points relating to the tender price:
-The annual volume of work will comprise up to six projects of technology assessment. EUR 500,000 are earmarked for projects of technology assessment in the 2005 budget. The total volume of the work for subsequent years is dependent on the estimated budget appropriations. Estimated total value: EUR2 000 000 for four years.
-Prices must be expressed in euro.
-The Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities annexed to the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities, signed in Brussels on 8 April 1965, shall apply. The European Parliament is exempt from all customs duties, direct and indirect taxes and other duties pursuant to the aforementioned Protocol. It follows, therefore, that the price must not include VAT.
-If tenderers are subject to and required to pay VAT, they shall indicate clearly in their tender both the price net of VAT and the price including VAT. Tenderers shall be responsible for ensuring that they meet all their obligations with regard to taxation.
-In their tender, tenderers shall state their current prices for the services set out in the Annex attached hereto and shall include all administrative costs, including any travel expenses. No additional request for reimbursement will be taken into consideration without the prior and explicit written consent of the European Parliament. Specific attention is drawn to the fact that the presence of the contractor in Brussels or Strasbourg can be requested at any time for at least one full day per week with prior notice of 48 hours!
-The amount, payment terms, and details for projects of technology assessment will be specified in the specific contract for every project.
-From the beginning of the second year of the contract, prices for the services may be revised upwards or downwards each year at the beginning of the month following the anniversary of the date on which it was signed, where such revision is requested by one of the parties by registered letter no later than three months before that date. The formula which is applied for such revision is laid down in Article 4 of the draft framework contract.
-Tenderers may submit further documents that they deem of use in assessing their tender.
5.The following deadlines must be met in the performance of the contract:
-an opinion on a proposed technology assessment project must be handed over no later than one month after the signature of the specific contract for drawing up this opinion;
-a draft plan for an approved technology assessment project must be handed over no later than three months after the signature of the specific contract for this technology assessment project;
-all further deadlines for technology assessment projects should be specified in the specific contract.
In the event of failure to meet the above deadlines, Article 10 of the draft framework contract shall apply.
6.Subcontracting without the prior written authorisation of the Director of the European Parliament’s Directorate for Economic and Scientific Policy shall be prohibited. In any event, the contractor shall remain solely and fully liable for the performance of the contract vis-à-vis the European Parliament.
7.Joint or group tenders will be accepted on condition that each of the submitting parties completes the tender form in Annex II and submits the documents required.Tenders fromgroupsmust specify the role, qualifications and experience of each of the members of the group andthe lead tenderer.
8.An initial 3-year period (36 months) with the possibility of a maximum renewal of 12 months is intended for the duration of the framework contract. The contract will subsequently be tacitly renewed until the end of the parliamentary term, unless one of the parties objects thereto by registered letter sent at least three months before the expiry of the initial duration.
9.Exclusion[*]
(1) Tenders which:
-are not forwarded in accordance with the procedures laid down in paragraph 2 of this invitation to tender;
-fail to abide by all of the terms and conditions relating to prices set out in paragraph 4 of this invitation to tender;
-are not accompanied by a declaration on the tenderer’s honour, duly completed and signed under point 3 of the tender form, stating that:
a) the tenderer is not bankrupt or being wound up, is not having his affairs administered by the courts, has not entered into an arrangement with creditors, has not suspended business activities, is not the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or is not in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;
b) the tenderer has not been convicted of an offence concerning his professional conduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata;
c) the tenderer has not been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify;
d) the tenderer has fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which the tenderer is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;
e) the tenderer has not been the subject of a judgement which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests;
f) following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget, the tenderer has not been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with his contractual obligations,
- fail to provide documents supporting point a), b), d) and e) of this declaration, will be excluded from the tender procedure.
(2) The European parliament shall accept, as satisfactory evidence that the tenderer is not in one of the situations described in point a), b) or e) of paragraph (1), production of a recent extract from the judicial record or, failing that, a recent equivalent document issued by a judicial or administrative authority in the country of origin or provenance showing that those requirements are satisfied.
(3)The European Parliament shall accept, as satisfactory evidence that the tenderer is not in the situation described in point d) of paragraph (1), a recent certificate issued by the competent authority of the State concerned.
Where no such certificate is issued in the country concerned, it may be replaced by a sworn or, failing that, a solemn statement made by the interested party before a judicial or administrative authority, a notary or a qualified professional body in his country of origin or provenance.
(4)Depending on the national legislation of the country in which the tenderer is established, the documents referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) shall relate to legal persons and/or natural persons including, where considered necessary by the contracting authority, company directors or any person with powers of representation, decision-making or control in relation to the tenderer.
The tenderer undertakes to supply any other documents specifically requested of him.
Contracts may not be awarded to candidates or tenderers who, during the procurement procedure:
- are subject to a conflict of interest;
- are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or fail to supply this information.
10.Selection criteria (see point 4 of the tender form)
The selection criteria shall focus on:
-at least five qualified academic staff members involved in the projects and the areas covered;
-at least ten TA projects on international and/or national level executed in the past 5 years;
-activities in advising parliaments of the EU Member States and/or the European Parliament on scientific and technological matters undertaken;
-at least ten international and/or national scientific contacts and links as part of the research and consultancy activity;
-partners in at least 3 EU Member States;
-the economic and financial capacity of the tenderer.
The tenderer undertakes to supply any documents specifically requested of him.
11.Award criteria (see point 5 of the tender form)
The focus and weighting of the award criteria shall be as follows:
a)Quality of the offer (40 %), taking into account the following criteria:
quality of the presentation (including the proposed strategy and method of working for the provision of the scientific services concerned) (20 %),
quality of the person in charge and of the proposed team (10 %),
quality of the international contacts and links (5 %),
quality of the national scientific contacts and links (5 %).
b)Experience of the candidate (40 %), taking into account the following criteria:
experience in technology assessment projects and contributions to strategies and methodology of technology assessment (18 %),
experience in advising parliaments of the EU Member States and/or the European Parliament, government organisations of the Member States and/or EU institutions or organisations, or any main international scientific projects on scientific and technological matters (18 %),
experience in activities relating to dialogue on scientific and technological developments between the scientific community, society and the political community (4 %).
c)The price (20 %), , taking into account the following criteria:
estimated cost for a “standard” TA project (10 %),
estimated cost for a "standard" opinion on a proposed TA project (2%)
daily charge rate for Chief Executive Officer (1 %),
daily charge rate for senior scientist (2 %),
daily charge rate for junior scientist (1 %),
daily charge rate for support from other staff (1 %),
percentage of estimated cost for a "standard" TA project for overhead (1 %),
estimated costs for a workshop (1 %),
travel costs for a full day present in Brussels or Strasbourg (1 %).
12.The invoices must be expressed in euro, and as defined in the specific contract. Payment will be made within 45 days of receipt of the invoice in accordance with the payment schedule as stated in Article 6 of the draft framework contract.
13.By submitting a tender, tenderers shall accept the terms and conditions of this invitation to tender and of the annexes thereto and shall waive their own terms and conditions.
14.Tenderers will be informed in writing of the decision taken on their tender.
15.Following the launch of this invitation to tender all contact between the European Parliament and tenderers is prohibited, other than by way of exception and on the following conditions:
a)before the closing date for the submission of tenders:
-on the initiative of tenderers:
additional information intended solely to explain the nature of the invitation to tender may be given to tenderers;
-on the initiative of the European Parliament:
if its departments discover an error, an inaccuracy, an omission or any other material shortcoming in the wording of the text of the invitation to tender or of the Specifications governing the services, they may inform the parties concerned thereof on the same terms as those applying to the initial invitation to tender;
b)after the tenders have been opened, and on the initiative of the European Parliament’s departments:
- the European Parliament have an intention to establish a short-list of 3 to 5 candidates with the highest number of points in the qualitative evaluation. They might be invited to present their approach on the premises of the European Parliament.
16.The European Parliament reserves the right to withdraw or modify this invitation to tender at any time.
17.The contractor shall be required to divulge to the European Parliament all the results of his research, in compliance with copyright rules. The contractor undertakes to cede to the European Parliament, in full, his copyright on the studies and other draftings for the European Parliament, in accordance with the provisions of copyright legislation, and in particular full or partial publication and distribution rights in whatever form.
18.Belgian law shall apply to the contract resulting from this invitation to tender.
Thérèse LEPOUTRE-DUMOULIN
Director
Annexes:
ISpecifications governing the services
IITender form
IIIDraft framework contract
IVDraft specific contract
VGeneral Terms and conditions applicable to contracts
[*]Article 93, paragraph 2 of the Financial Regulation (Council Regulation No 1605/2002, OJ L 248, 16.09.2002, p. 1)