TENDER N°: CFT/11/ETF/0038 TITLE: “SERVICES TO SUPPORT ETF PROJECT ACTIVITIES IN KAZAKHSTAN” TENDER DOSSIER PART A: TENDER SPECIFICATIONS PART B: DRAFT CONTRACT 1 PART A: TENDER SPECIFICATIONS 1. Terms of Reference SUMMARY OF SERVICE REQUESTED Title of this service Services to support ETF project activities in Kazakhstan Expected start date May 2012 Expected End date April 2016 Maximum potential budget for the whole life of the contract € 350 000 1. BRIEF BACKGROUND RELEVANT FOR THE SERVICE The European Training Foundation (ETF) is an agency of the European Union based in Turin, Italy. It works with transition and developing countries to apply human resource development (HRD) strategies to socio-economic development. As the EU’s centre of expertise ETF supports education and training reform in the context of the EU external relations programmes 1. The ETF deploys and recruits experts from multiple disciplines to handle complex and multidimensional topics in a team based approach, in order to create new knowledge, result orientated competencies and solutions in the partner countries. The work of the ETF is based on the evidence that education and training can make a fundamental contribution to increasing prosperity, creating sustainable growth and encouraging social inclusion in developing and transition economies. The ETF adds value to the EU external relations programmes by facilitating communication and learning between the EU and its partner countries; ETF considers system reform in education and training as a cornerstone for more efficient human resource development strategies. The ETF provides services (advice and assistance) to the European Commission and a number of the partner countries2 that receive support from the European Union’s external relations programmes for the modernisation of human resource development policies. The ETF annual work programme and information on specific projects can be found on www.etf.europa.eu. Given the subject of the contract and its place of delivery participation in this call for tenders is also open to all natural and legal persons that are established in Kazakhstan. 2. OBJECTIVE AND EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE SERVICE Through this tender, ETF intends to conclude a framework contract for services to support locally the implementation of its activities in Kazakhstan. 1 The ETF was established by Regulation (EC) No. 1339/2008 of the European Parliament and the Council of 16 December 2008 (recast) to contribute to the development of education and training systems in EU partner countries. 2 The ETF currently works with 30 partner countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia (FYR), Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey (IPA region); Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Moldova, Morocco, Russian Federation, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, West Bank and Gaza Strip (ENPI region); Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (DCI region). Any possible extension to other countries, will be as designated by decision of the ETF Governing Board on a proposal from the Commission, in accordance with the external relations priorities of the European Union and as far as available resources allow. 2 Due to the nature of the services required and their place of delivery, the ETF is seeking a company, which will ensure a strong local base in Kazakhstan3 and with staff appropriate for achieving the scope of the contract. The service provider will be required to provide upon ETF request the two main types of services described below which may also be closely linked. SERVICE A: Organisation of project meetings such as workshops or seminars in Kazakhstan In order to facilitate capacity building activities, policy discussion with national and regional decisionmakers, sharing of experience within the country and/or with other ETF partner countries, etc. ETF regularly organises project meetings such as, training sessions, workshops, dissemination seminars, conferences and final project events. These are mainly aimed at exchanging ideas or information at country or regional level and are generally regarded as practical working meetings. Such meetings are often part of or closely related to project activities. The requirements of each specific project meeting/event will be outlined in specific Terms of Reference (TORs) which will be sent to the Framework Contractor along with a Request for Offer (RfO). ETF and international and national experts may also be invited to attend these meetings. Their travel arrangements and expenses are often covered by other means, but as a rule they would require logistical assistance by the Contractor for their participation. Indicatively, the ETF meetings or events can range from a half-day meeting of 10 experts to a 2-3 day conference of a project with up to 50 participants (with a limited number of participants coming from other ETF partner countries, in particular Central Asia, or the EU) requiring, for example, overnight accommodation, meeting facilities, interpretation, translation of working documents, etc. Previously typical ETF project events in Kazakhstan have ranged from 15 to 35 participants, and the majority of participants are locally based. Most of the ETF events take place in Astana, but they could also take place in Kazakh regions depending on venue availability and/or ETF’s decision to organise them elsewhere. In the coming years the ETF is planning to strengthen cooperation with the following regions: Atyrau, Almaty, Pavlodar, Ust-Kamenogorsk. ETF events are often organised in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan, therefore close coordination with the Ministry may be requested during the whole organisation phase. Please see Appendix C for the list and size of the ETF events organised in Kazakhstan in the period of the last 2 years. In exceptional cases, the contractor might be asked to organise an event for Kazakh stakeholders outside of Kazakhstan, in which case, in addition to the services described above, the contractor might be required to make international travel arrangements, liaise with the local stakeholders and service providers in the country in question, etc. SERVICE B: Support to ETF country networking The ETF may require support in the following two areas: 1) Support to the organisation of ETF missions to Kazakhstan, including organisation of bilateral meetings with Kazakh counterparts; 2) Translation of documents (English/Russian/Kazakh) and working papers with technical specialised terminology for events / workshops. If these services are needed, detailed requirements will be outlined in specific Terms of Reference (TORs), which will be sent to the Framework Contractor along with a Request for Offer (RfO). The Framework contractor has to ensure that at all the stages of implementation of activities the ETF corporate identity is respected. 3 Please see additionally Appendix E on the specific requirements for joint offers and subcontracting. 3 3. SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES Activities of the Contractor related to SERVICE A The Contractor shall efficiently organise project meetings and events in Kazakhstan, and, in exceptional cases, for Kazakh participants outside of Kazakhstan, taking into account their specific needs as per the TORs and in all cases ensuring that all logistics are organised to a high standard and in a timely manner to allow for smooth implementation and ideal working conditions. Under the category of service A, the services requested belong under I) standard meeting package and/or under II) additional services, as described below: A.I. Services included in the standard meeting package In the organisation of each meeting the Contractor will provide the below services which are considered as a standard meeting package covered by the Contractor’s fixed fees (described in the financial proposal) and which shall include the following services: 1. All relevant administrative, technical, logistic and secretarial support to ETF, local, regional participants and international experts prior to, during and following the event, including participating in the pre-event briefing with the ETF staff several days before the event. 2. Issuing invitations and closely following registration and confirmation of participation prior to the event. 3. Disseminating event related background documents to participants, if required. 4. Support in the identification of relevant participants and liaising with national counterparts in the organisation of the event, if required. 5. Compiling a list of participants prior to the event and ensuring it is signed by all participants and completed as relevant during the event. This signed list of participants will be used as a means to verify the total number of participants and related Contractor’s fee. After each event the list of participants who actually took part in the event (with full contact details) will be provided to the ETF by the Contractor. 6. Taking detailed minutes during the events. 7. Logistic support for the organisation of participants’ travel & visa arrangements and reservation of accommodation for the events in Kazakhstan. In the majority of cases, this relates to the travel arrangements of Kazakh participants within the country. However, it may also relate to the travel arrangements of participants from other countries of Central Asia (and, in exceptional cases, European countries or other ETF partner countries) to Kazakhstan. The costs of travel, visa and accommodation are to be considered as “reimbursable costs”. 8. In exceptional cases, logistic support for travel and/or accommodation and/or visa for Kazakh participants invited to events taking place in the EU (for example, a study visit in an EU Member State) or an ETF partner country4. The costs of travel, visa, accommodation are to be considered as “reimbursable costs”. 9. Booking necessary local transfers within the city of the event (including to/from hotel and to/from the airport or train/bus station) as necessary depending on meeting location and where participants come from. The cost of transfers are to be considered as “reimbursable costs”. 10. Preparing and ensuring badges and name plates for all the participants and event signs 4 The ETF currently works with 30 partner countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Iceland, Kosovo, Macedonia (FYR), Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey (IPA region); Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Moldova, Morocco, Russian Federation, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, West Bank and Gaza Strip (ENPI region); Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (DCI region). Any possible extension to other countries, will be as designated by decision of the ETF Governing Board on a proposal from the Commission, in accordance with the external relations priorities of the European Union and as far as available resources allow 4 (all bearing the ETF logo and respecting the ETF corporate identity). The costs of badges and nameplates are to be considered as “reimbursable costs”. 11. Ensuring working documents and stationary for the event including pens, paper / notebooks, folders, photocopied material. The costs of stationary etc. are to be considered as “reimbursable costs”. 12. Ensuring all sub-contracting and payments required for all services for the event. Calculation of contractor’s fees for SERVICE A.I. (standard meeting package): The Contractor’s fees per each event will be made up of two parts: a) fixed fee for the organisation of each event. This fixed fee will be charged by the Contractor for the organisation of any type of event. The fixed fee per event is the first part of the contractor’s fee for event organisation. The contractor shall be paid this nonvariable fee per each event organised. It shall not vary according to the overall budget of the event nor the size or duration of the event. Tenderers do not need to include any of the additional services e.g. room rental, interpretation equipment, meals and accommodation, etc. (A.II.) in this fixed fee as these will be reimbursable costs. The fee will cover all costs of implementation of activities and all administrative and management costs related to the assignment to be carried out by the Contractor described in the standard meeting package above, such as staff costs, overheads, social security, taxes, bank charges etc. incurred by the Contractor. The contractor may not add its own ‘booking’ and/or ‘administrative’ charges to items such as travel, accommodation, etc. these will not be considered eligible and under no circumstances will be covered by ETF. Please see Appendix C for the list and size of the ETF events organised in Kazakhstan in the period of the last 2 years. b) fee per participant per day of each event. This participant fee – calculated on the number of invitees who actually attend a meeting (excluding the Contractor’s staff) – will be added to the fixed fee per event. The fee per participant is the second part of the contractor’s fee for event organisation. As it is charged per participant per day, this is the way in which the contractor’s fee varies in accordance with size and duration of an event. For example: for a two-day meeting with 15 participants, the total Contractor’s fee would be calculated as: € ‘fixed fee’ + 15 X € ‘participant fee X 2 days. The fee per participant is applicable for invited participants, experts and ETF staff. It is not applicable for Contractor’s staff, interpreters, other technical support staff, etc The number of participants and corresponding fee to which the Contractor is entitled will be determined by the final signed list of participants per each day of event, approved by ETF. Please see Appendix C for the list and size of the ETF events organised in Kazakhstan in the period of the last 2 years. A.II. Additional services The ETF may request the Contractor to provide additional services such as arranging: 1. Appropriate meeting venue, comfortable spacious meeting room(s) and meeting room layout suitable for the nature of meeting and its agenda and to facilitate discussions/training. For each assignment the Contractor will propose at least 2 possible venues for the approval of ETF; 2. All relevant audio/visual, technical equipment and other meeting equipment and supplies, i.e. overhead projector, computer with power-point and other software, video projector, flipchart /white board and pens, etc For each event and if applicable the contractor will agree 5 with the ETF the necessary equipment needed; 3. In accordance with the agenda, appropriate coffee breaks, lunches and other refreshments, for all participants; 4. Official dinners and social events; 5. Interpretation equipment and qualified experienced interpreters for high quality interpretation; 6. High quality translations (English – Russian – Kazakh); 7. Upon request of the ETF, inviting the mass media to the ETF events, issuing press releases and or articles in local mass media, as well as providing the published materials to the ETF; 8. Badges and name plates for all the participants and event signs (all bearing the ETF logo and respecting the ETF corporate identity); 9. Working documents and stationary for the event including pens, paper / notebooks, folders, photocopied material; 10. Covering the costs of over-night accommodation for participants from another city/region/country and related meals (dinner/breakfast); 11. Covering the travel costs of event participants to and from the city of the event (which may also include inter-regional or international travel tickets); 12. For regional events outside Astana: related travel, local transport, accommodation and meal costs for the Contractor and support staff prior to and during the event, upon agreement of ETF. (For information, most of the ETF events take place in Astana, but they could also take place in regions depending on venue availability and/or ETF’s decision to organise them elsewhere); 13. In exceptional cases of Kazakh participants taking part in events outside Kazakhstan (for example in the EU or in another partner country) organised by the ETF, ensuring appropriate logistic arrangements for the Kazakh participants including overnight stay, travel, visa, etc. Reimbursements to the Contractor for the additional services: The budget proposal for the above-mentioned services will need to be presented for approval to the ETF in advance for each event organised if requested in the specific Terms of Reference and related Request for Offer. The costs will be reimbursed to the contractor by the ETF after the services rendered, at the final payment stage and upon presentation and approval from the ETF of all relevant invoices and/or other supporting documents demonstrating the nature of the services and the cost incurred. The contractor will follow the principle of good financial management and ensure value for money, i.e. quality of service at the most advantageous price. For this reason, the Contractor may be requested to provide a selection of price quotes for one of all of the above-mentioned services as requested and if applicable. Activities of the Contractor related to SERVICE B Under the category of service B, the services requested belong under I) standard mission package and/or under II) translation services, as described below: B.I. Services included in the standard mission package The Contractor will support the ETF project teams (which may include ETF staff and international and local experts) in the organisation of missions to Kazakhstan. The services required as part of the standard mission package are: 6 1. setting up of meeting schedule with Kazakh counterparts, 2. support in obtaining visas 3. logistical arrangements such as hotel booking, reserving the pick-up from/to the airport and transfers between meetings in the city 4. booking restaurants for working lunches or dinners 5. helping with arrangements of regional travel 6. identifying / booking a professional interpreter for high-quality interpretation (EN/RU/KAZ) for specified days / meetings during the mission which must all be taken into account in the fixed fee per mission package (described below). B.II. Translation services The Contractor will ensure and cover the cost of high quality translation of project documents and working papers with technical specialised terminology (between English, Russian and Kazakh languages). Calculation of Contractor’s fees for SERVICE B: The Contractor’s fees for Service B will be paid according to two different fee rates as per the financial proposal for the two services. a) fixed fee per mission package for support to the organisation of ETF missions to Kazakhstan. The fee will cover the cost of all services described in the standard mission package above (B.I.). Interpretation costs, costs of pick-up from/to the airport, costs of transfers between meetings in the city, costs of regional travel within the country or region, visa, accommodation costs are considered to be outside of the standard mission package fee. A typical ETF mission may consist of 2 persons who stay in the country for up to 14 working days with a maximum of 4 meetings per day. The ETF carries out approximately 6 missions per year. The Contractor may be requested to pre-finance mission related interpretation costs, transfers and/or regional travel within the country or region. Such costs will be agreed with the ETF in advance and reimbursed to the Contractor by the ETF after the mission at the final payment stage, upon approval of supporting documents demonstrating the nature of the service and the costs incurred. b) fixed price per translation page (1 500 characters without spaces) for high quality translation of project documents and working papers as described in B.II. The contractor will be reimbursed accordingly based on the price indicated in the financial proposal. 4. HOW SERVICES WILL BE CONTRACTED UNDER THE FRAMEWORK CONTRACT A framework contract is a legal agreement between two parties - in this case, ETF and ‘the Contractor’. It acts as the basis for possible future purchase of services by ETF. The framework contract contains, among others, the scope of services that can be purchased by ETF, contractor’s activities, methodology, timing and fees to be respected by the Contractor. It is a contract of a fixed duration but with no fixed value, only a maximum total value. The framework contract itself is not an order for services and does not constitute a financial commitment. When required, services are requested under ‘order forms’ linked to specific activities. 7 The ETF can issue order forms for specific services under the framework contract. An example of the order form used is attached to the Draft Contract. The procedure for concluding an order form is as follows: 1. The ETF will send a Request for Offer (RfO) with specific Terms of Reference (TORs) for the assignment to the contractor together with a time schedule and any other information it considers relevant e.g. maximum budget available for each assignment. 2. The contractor will present to the ETF within four working days a detailed budget breakdown of the assignment based on the specific requirements of the TORs; 3. The ETF and the contractor will agree on the distribution of the budget into fees, and reimbursable costs where applicable; 4. The ETF will send a signed order form to the contractor. The contractor will counter-sign, and return the order form (scanned by e-mail or by fax) to ETF as acknowledgement of receipt and acceptance within 2 working days. Upon signature by both parties, the assignment can begin. At no stage in the process is the ETF legally bound to issue an order form. Therefore the ETF has no legal commitment to the contractor in case the agreement is not reached on the budget, or an activity is cancelled, etc. No legal commitment exists on behalf of either party until the order form counter-signed by the contractor has been received by ETF. In the course of contract implementation, the contractor should bear in mind that any changes in the nominated staff and/or changes in the methodology described in the contractor’s technical proposal, must be communicated to ETF for approval. The Contractor shall also ensure that any member of his personnel working in the context of this Contract, including the personnel at the local office, fulfils all legal obligations with respect to social security contributions, insurance and fiscal regulations. 5. BUDGET The maximum budget available to issue order forms under the framework contract is € 350 000. Indicatively, ETF envisages that the total value of reimbursable costs will not exceed 70% of all activities implemented under the contract. The total budget for each assignment will be that agreed between ETF and the contractor in the signed order form. All fee rates referred to are those contained in the signed framework contract between the Contractor and the ETF. 6. KICK OFF MEETING An inception meeting will take place either in the ETF in Turin or during the ETF mission in Kazakhstan, after the contract is signed. During the inception meeting the Contractor`s contact person will be invited to familiarise with the ETF structure and activities, financial and reporting procedures. No fees will be paid for the kick off meeting and the ETF will only reimburse the related travel and subsistence expenses to the Contractor, if applicable. 8 7. MONITORING PROGRESS The contractor will maintain regular communication with the ETF, in English by phone and email, as necessary to ensure clarity on the progress of the service. On issues strictly related to organisation of events and missions (Service A and B), in case the Contractor is established outside of Kazakhstan, the ETF will have direct access to the local office of the Contractor and upon ETF’s request the local office will provide status reports on the progress of organisation of the event in question. Regular briefing meetings will be organised between the ETF country manager and the Contractor during the missions of the Country manager to Kazakhstan to discuss issues related to implemented and future assignments. In case the Contractor is established outside of Kazakhstan, the meetings will be organised with the representative/s of the local office in Kazakhstan. For the sake of monitoring and improving the quality of services the ETF responsible person will fill in and provide the feedback form (Appendix D) to the Contractor after the implementation of Service A or Service B. Upon request, during the life of the contract, the contractor will provide to ETF brief ad-hoc progress reports as requested by the ETF. 8. PAYMENT PLAN 1. The contract foresees the possibility of pre-financing (advance) payments of 50% of the value of each order form above 10,000 euro, provided that it is clearly stipulated in the order form and/or the terms of reference for the assignment. The Contractor will need to send a request/invoice for each pre-financing payment. ETF will pay pre-financing within 30 days of receipt of an original correct signed request/invoice from the Contractor. 2. Final payment will be made upon successful completion of the assignment in accordance with the specific Terms of Reference and on the condition that a correct final invoice supported by a complete and accurate financial report is provided to ETF (see ‘Brief guide on preparation of the financial report’ in Appendix A). 9 APPENDICES Appendix A: Brief Guide on Preparation of Financial Report (and Final Invoice) Appendix B: A list of typical services requested by the ETF from the Contractor for the organisation of events Appendix C: List of ETF events organised in Kazakhstan in 2010 and 2011 Appendix D: ETF Feedback form Appendix E: Joint offers and subcontracting 10 Appendix A: Brief guide on preparation of the financial report (and final invoice) The financial report and its accompanying supporting documents will demonstrate without a doubt the amounts being claimed by the Contractor and exactly what these amounts relate to. Particularly in the case of ‘reimbursable costs’ the Contractor must clearly demonstrate the costs incurred in ensuring that service to the ETF. Amounts claimed must always be in line with the TORs for the specific assignment and agreed related budget. The financial report will take the form of a clear list in English of the amounts (in Euro) claimed by the Contractor with the related supporting documents attached. The structure of the report will, in so far as possible, follow that of the agreed budget breakdown of the order form and follow the same main budget headings (as described also under ‘Budget’ of these Terms of Reference): 1. Fees, 2. Reimbursables (if applicable). To ensure clarity, particularly when the amounts claimed for require many supporting documents, the Contractor will ensure that both the list of amounts claimed and the supporting documents will be numbered in the same way. Where necessary, the Contractor will write a brief translation in English of what the supporting document refers to. The following are just some examples of the types of supporting documents to be attached to the financial report. Description of required supporting documents per service 1. Fees: 1.1. Fee for SERVICE A, organisation of project meetings: i) fixed fee for the organisation of each event. The contractor is paid a non-variable fee per each event organised. The supporting document for the organisation of ETF project meetings / events will be an invoice indicating the number of meetings / events organised. ii) fee per participant per day of each event. The supporting document which will determine the fee rate to be applied is the final list of participants signed by each participant on each day they were present at the meeting. The participants list will include local and international invitees and experts, and the ETF staff but will not include the Contractor’s staff, interpreters or other support staff of the meeting. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to ensure that they ask each meeting participant to sign. In case signatures of participants present during the meeting are missing from the signed list, which would affect the final fee rate, the Contractor may provide an explanation in writing to the ETF contact person for the assignment – the ETF may decide that it is possible to take the missing number into account. The fee per participant is applicable for invited participants, experts and ETF staff. It is not applicable for Contractor’s staff, interpreters, other technical support staff, etc. The number of participants and corresponding fee to which the Contractor is entitled will be determined by the final signed list of participants per each day of event, approved by ETF. However, if the Contractor does not inform ETF, at least 4 ETF working days in advance of the meeting, that the total number of participants may exceed that stated in the signed order form, the ETF may not be able to approve any budget amendment or increase the total order form value. 1.2. Fee for SERVICE B, support to ETF country networking: 1. fixed fee per mission package. The supporting document for the support to the organisation of ETF missions to Kazakhstan will be an 11 invoice indicating the number of missions organised. 2. fixed price per page (1 500 characters without spaces). The supporting document will be an invoice declaring the number of pages translated. 2. Reimbursable 2.1 Travel costs costs: Copy of flight ticket and original boarding pass stubs and, where relevant, travel agency invoice; invoice from bus/car-hire company; etc. Dates travelled and total price must be clear on the supporting documents. 2.2 Other reimbursable costs Invoices from suppliers demonstrating clearly the service (e.g. interpretation, translation, hotel accommodation, meals etc.), dates and exact cost. In case of doubt, the Contractor will discuss and agree in advance with the ETF contact person on the types of supporting documents that will be required to support specific expenditure. It is requested to do so in writing. The financial report should include any correspondence between ETF and the contractor agreeing changes to the budget distribution during the execution of the assignment. Such budget changes must be agreed in writing between the two parties before the expenditure takes place. ETF may consider reimbursable costs ineligible if they are not related to the agreed assignment, were not requested by ETF in the order form (or in writing following signature of the order form) or if the cost incurred by the Contractor cannot be demonstrated clearly (lack of supporting document(s)) Where relevant, the exchange rate to be used for the purpose of financial reporting is the European Commision’s InforEuro rate of the month on which expenditure occurs. This can be found on http://ec.europa.eu/budget/inforeuro/. This applies to reimbursable costs purchased in another currency. (If the Contractor wishes to use the official exchange rate of the bank where he has his bank account, this is a possibility. An official document from the bank must be provided and the issue must be agreed in advance with the ETF.) Any other more specific requirements for the financial report may be mentioned in the TORs for a specific assignment. 12 Appendix B: A list of typical services requested by the ETF from the Contractor for the organisation of events Translation (EN-RU-KAZ) of background documents for the event including agenda, invitation letters, list of participants, presentations, etc., Dispatch of invitation letters and registration forms to the to the list of invitees provided by ETF, Follow-up of the registrations and confirmations of participants, Booking the meeting venue as appropriate according to the agenda, number of participants and duration of the event, ensuring smooth implementation and ideal working conditions, Travel arrangements, accommodation and spare meals for Kazakh participants coming from outside the meeting venue, Travel arrangements, transportation from/to airport, accommodation and spare meals for international participants attending ETF events in Kazakhstan, Lunches, coffee breaks and water on the table for meeting participants according to the agenda, Simultaneous / consecutive interpretation English/Russian/Kazakh, Technical equipment: video projector, beamer, laptop, screens, flip charts (with paper and pens), microphones and full sounds system, moderation materials, easy access to printer, photocopier, etc., Preparation of folders, badges and nameplates for the event participants, Provision of printed material related to the event, Provision of pens and bloc-notes for the participants, Ensuring presence of ETF logo and title of project/event on all signs, documents, folders, etc, Ensuring the relevant administrative, technical and secretarial support to allow for the smooth organisation and implementation of the event, Providing detailed minutes of events, Other. 13 Appendix C: list of ETF events organised in Kazakhstan in 2010 – 2011 National conference on discussion of concept of employment, 25 February 2010 Number of participants: 37 (2 from Almaty, the rest from Astana) Venue of event: Astana Focus Group meeting on Torino Process and Education & Business Cooperation, 28 April 2010 Number of participants: 14 (2 from Almaty, the rest from Astana) Venue of event: Astana Validation seminar on Torino Process country review, 28 September 2010 Number of participants: 51 (5 from Almaty, the rest from Astana) Venue of event: Astana National conference on School Development, 7-8 December 2010 Number of participants: 50 (37 from Almaty, the rest from Astana) Venue of event: Astana Capacity building training on School Development, 27 – 29 January 2011 Number of participants: 21 (6 from Almaty, the rest from various regions of Kazakhstan) Venue of event: Almaty Regional event on Torino Process and Education & Business Cooperation, 22 February 2011 Number of participants: 23 (8 from Astana, 4 from Almaty and other regions, 3 from Uzbekistan, 1 from Turkmenistan, 5 from Tajikistan, 2 from Kyrgyzstan) Venue of event: Astana Capacity building training on School Development, 4 April 2011 Number of participants: 24 (14 from Almaty, the rest from various regions of Kazakhstan) Venue of event: Almaty Capacity building training on School Development, 27 May 2011 Number of participants: 20 (10 from Almaty, the rest from various regions of Kazakhstan) Venue of event: Almaty National workshop on partnership between education and business in VET, 21 – 22 June 2011 Number of participants: 31 (19 from Astana, the rest from various regions of Kazakhstan) Venue of event: Astana Regional workshop on education-business cooperation, 3 October 2011 Number of participants: 15 (1 from Astana, the rest from Atyrau) Venue of event: Atyrau Regional workshop on education-business cooperation, 7 October 2011 Number of participants: 22 (1 from Astana, 2 from Pavlodar, the rest from Ust Kamenogorsk) Venue of event: Ust-Kamenogorsk National workshop on evidence based policy making, 11 October 2011 Number of participants: 15 (all from Astana) Venue of event: Astana 14 Appendix D: ETF feedback form Type of service: Organisation of project meeting Support to organisation of ETF missions Translation of documents Organisation of project meetings 1. Handling of participants (invitations, confirmations, accommodation, travel etc) Good Satisfactory To be improved Additional comments: 2. Logistical arrangements (venue, required equipment, interpretation, meals, preparation of background materials, etc) Good Satisfactory To be improved Additional comments: Support to organisation of ETF missions Good Satisfactory To be improved Additional comments: Translation of documents Good Satisfactory To be improved Additional comments: Contractor`s comments: 15 Appendix E: Joint offers and subcontracting A. JOINT OFFERS 1. Definition A joint offer is a situation where an offer is submitted by a group of tenderers. Tenders can be submitted by groupings of service providers/suppliers who will not be required to adopt a particular legal form prior to the contract being awarded. However, the selected group might be required to adopt a given legal form after it has been awarded the contract if this is necessary for proper performance of the contract. 2. Tendering documents The offer has to be signed by the lead partner of the group which has been duly authorised by the other members of the grouping when the tenders have not yet formed a legal entity. Partners in a joint offer assume joint and several liability towards ETF for the performance of the contract as a whole. The group must clearly indicate which service provider will be carrying out which tasks as well as who has been appointed by the others as the lead partner. The lead partner shall be the contracting party with ETF and shall be responsible for the overall performance of the contract and management of the other members of the consortium. All the information on exclusion and selection criteria of each member of the group must be included in the offer. 3. Evaluation of exclusion and selection criteria The exclusion criteria will be assessed in relation to each company individually. Each member of the group must be eligible in accordance with section 3.1 below and provide the required evidence. The exclusion of a member of the group leads to the exclusion of the group. The selection criteria will be assessed in relation to the combined capacities of all members of the group as a whole. Therefore, as evidence of the financial capacity of the group, combined evidence must be submitted (e.g. a statement indicating the combined turnover of all the members of the group). 4. Evaluation of award criteria The award criteria will be assessed in relation to the tender, irrespective of whether it has been submitted by a single legal/natural person or by a tendering group. 16 B. SUB-CONTRACTING 1. Definition Sub-contracting is a situation where a contract has been or is to be established between ETF and a contractor and where the contractor, in order to carry out the contract, enters into legal commitments with other legal entities for performing part of the work, service or supply. 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 in order to contribute directly to the performance of the activities mentioned in the tender specifications. The tenderer may include in its request to participate/offer any level of subcontracting in order to demonstrate that it fulfils the selection criteria. 2. Tendering documents The tenderer must provide in his offer: (1) A document - clearly stating the identity, roles, activities and responsibilities of subcontractor(s) and; - specifying the volume/proportion for each subcontractor (2) A letter of intent by each subcontractor stating its unambiguous undertaking to collaborate with the tenderer if he wins the contract and the extent of the resources that it will put at the tenderer’s disposal for the performance of the contract. If the above-mentioned documents are not provided, the contracting authority shall assume that the tenderer does not intend subcontracting. 3. Evaluation of exclusion and selection criteria The tenderer has to furnish the documents regarding the exclusion and selection criteria on his behalf and the subcontractor has to countersign them. In this case, if the subcontractor is subject to exclusion, the tenderer will be excluded. The selection criteria will be assessed in relation to the combined capacities of the tenderer and the subcontractor. Therefore, as evidence of the financial capacity, combined evidence must be submitted (e.g. a statement indicating the combined turnover of the tenderer and the subcontractor). 4. Evaluation of award criteria The award criteria will be assessed in relation to the tender. 17 2. Timetable The timetable for this tender procedure and signature of the resulting contract(s) is as follows: Date Comments Tender launch date 21.12.2011 Deadline for request of clarifications 06.02.2012 Site visit or clarification meeting (if any) Date publication sent to OJ --- Last date on which clarifications are issued by ETF 09.02.2012 Deadline for submission of offers 17.02.2012 See ‘Guidelines for ETF public procurement’ for more details Interviews (if any) --- Opening session 23.02.2012 At 14:30 hrs local time Evaluation of offers 01.03.2012 Estimated starting date Notification of award Four weeks after evaluation date Estimated Contract signature Eight weeks after evaluation date Estimated May 2012 Estimated Commencement date of activities 18 3. Preparing a tender: required documents 3.1 Supporting Documentation Tenderers must provide a full set of documents for each of the following three areas, which the evaluation committee will assess before proceeding with evaluation of offers. i) Declaration on Exclusion Criteria Tenderers are required to provide the completed and signed ‘Declaration on exclusion criteria’. This standard declaration form is available for downloading at the following address: http://www.etf.europa.eu/web.nsf/pages/Open_tenders. Tenderers will be excluded in case they are in any of the situations listed in the declaration on exclusion criteria. The ETF may request further documentary evidence to support this selfdeclaration before contract award. ii) Selection documentation Tenderers must prove that they have the technical & professional, and economic & financial capacities to effectively perform and administer the contract. Technical & professional capacity The tenderer must have the following technical and professional capacity to perform the contract: A minimum of three years experience in implementing the type of services (service A and service B) as described in the terms of reference in Kazakhstan. Suitable organisational infrastructure for the implementation of the activities in Kazakhstan, and in particular in Astana. Evidence of this capacity must be provided by: A detailed list of services similar to those described in the terms of reference, implemented over the past 3 years, including dates, values and names of recipients of the service in Kazakhstan. A brief description of the organisational infrastructure of the tendering company, including for tenderers established outside Kazakhstan, description of the local office based in Kazakhstan. Economic & financial capacity The tenderer must be able to prove that he is in a stable financial position. Evidence of this capacity must be provided by: 1. The presentation of balance sheets and profit and loss accounts for the past three years for which accounts have been closed. 2. The following table on the tenderer’s financial stability duly filled in: 19 Parameter Formula Value (to be filled in by tenderer) N-3 Working Capital N-2 N-1 Current Assets --------------------------- = Current Liabilities Financial Independence Own Funds ------------------------------ = Total Liabilities (Equity & Third Party Debts) Net Result ---- Turnover related to the services requested ---- Where: N is the current year for which accounts have not been closed. Own Funds are Capital plus Reserves In the case of a consortium submitting an offer, each member of the consortium must provide the required evidence. For ‘technical and professional capacity’ the evidence provided by each member of the consortium will be checked at consortium level to ensure that the consortium fulfils the criteria. iii) Standard forms Tenderers must provide the following forms duly completed and signed: Legal Entity Form and related supporting document(s): http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm Financial Identification Form: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/financial_id/financial_id_en.cfm 20 3.2 Offer: Technical Proposal & Financial Proposal The tenderer’s offer must demonstrate an understanding of the ETF terms of reference and be presented in clear concise language. i) Technical proposal The Contractor will effectively manage this service contract and in order to do so, will ensure and demonstrate in its technical proposal the following management capacities or systems: all necessary qualified human resources and technical infrastructure; effective local support; qualified personnel and/or resources to maintain a well-functioning financial management and accounting system; the capacity to implement several activities simultaneously; the capacity to maintain up-to-date complete electronic and paper files related to all activities. Considering the above-mentioned points, the Tenderer’s technical proposal must include the following information and must be undersigned for acceptance: SERVICES A AND B: Contact person and team for contract management and implementation of services Provide a brief description of the company, indicating the name, functions and contact details of the team. Nominate a contact person and team for contract management and implementation of services i.e. nominate at least one contact person and at least one back-up contact person (to act on behalf of the contact person in his/her absence) to oversee and manage all requests from the ETF and liaise with the ETF contact person(s) on a daily basis, and propose a relevant team with specified roles and responsibilities to implement the two services and all activities outlined under the section “Activities of the Contractor” of these Terms of Reference and ensure efficient management of the contract. CVs of the team must be provided in the Europass format. Both the contact person and the back up have to be fluent in English. The Contractor has to ensure that those team members that meet/liaise with the ETF representatives on mission in Kazakhstan in order to provide support to mission organisation or to discuss the arrangements for ETF events are fluent in English. SERVICES A AND B: Methodology Describe the means to ensure that the ETF shall receive high quality and timely local support for organisation of project meetings (Service A). Describe the approach for establishing and enhancing local networking capacities with Ministries (usually, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour, as well as sectoral Ministries), including high ministerial officials. Describe the approach to organisation of meetings (both in Astana or in Kazakh regions) by providing detailed information of the different steps proposed to organise different types of meetings, including timing, resources, existing network of suppliers. Criteria for selection of suppliers should also be included. The Tenderers should also include an evaluation methodology they intend to put in place to assess the success of the meeting organisation and reliability of suppliers. Additionally, the tenderer should propose effective measures for ensuring visibility for the events (Service A). Describe the means to ensure the ETF with high quality local support in all indicated activities. For translation of project documents and working papers with technical specialised terminology for events / workshops: describe the means to provide high quality service within a given deadline (Service B). In case the tenderer is established outside of Kazakhstan, describe clearly how the different responsibilities will be divided between the central office at the tenderer’s place of business and the local office in Kazakhstan, and define the degree of responsibility of each of the actors 21 per task, i.e. which responsibilities will be fully delegated to the local office, which will be shared, and which will remain under full control of the central office. Describe the mechanisms of quality assurance in place for guaranteeing overall quality services to the ETF, including if applicable aspects related to the share of responsibilities with the local office. 22 ii) Financial proposal Tenderers must use the below standard formats to present their financial proposal. General comments on the financial proposal: All prices must be quoted in Euro. If necessary, please use the conversion rates published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on the day when the invitation to this tender was issued. This information is available on the following website of the European Central Bank: http://www.ecb.int/stats/eurofxref. Prices must be quoted free of all duties, taxes and other charges (including VAT) as the ETF is exempt from such charges under Articles 3 and 4 of the Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities for services rendered by tenderers having their place of business within the European Union. For tenderers outside the European Union in principle this exemption does not apply, unless the applicable tax laws foresee an exemption when working with a body of the European Union. For this reason, for tenderers to whom the exemption does not apply are requested to provide the price exempt of taxes and the related amount for taxes. Please note that for the purpose of the evaluation the total price including taxes will be considered. The tenderer to whom the contract will be awarded will have the sole responsibility for complying with taw laws which apply to him in line with Article II.11 to the draft contract. 1. Price in € DESCRIPTION 2. Taxes (incl VAT) in € 3. Total Price in € (1. + 2.) CONTRACTOR’S FEES FOR SERVICE A Fixed fee for the organisation of each event Fee per participant per day of each event CONTRACTOR’S FEES FOR SERVICE B Fixed fee per mission package Fixed price for translation per page (1500 characters without spaces) I hereby acknowledge and accept the assumptions to the financial proposal presented above: Name (legal representative) Signature Date 23 4. Evaluating the offers: award criteria ETF will use the following award criteria to evaluate the offers received: Technical award criteria Weighting (out of 100) Composition of the team proposed according to the roles and responsibilities requested 30 Methodology proposed covering all points included under services A and B 30 Financial award criteria Fixed fees for each event 20 Fee per participant 10 Fixed fee for organisation of each mission 10 The sum of all criteria gives a total of 100 points. The respective weighting between the different award criteria depends on the nature of the services required and is consequently closely related to the terms of reference. The award criteria are thus quantified parameters that the offer should comply with. Please note that the fixed price for translation per page is not subject to evaluation. Minimum threshold score against technical award criteria: Tenderers scoring less than 30 points of the total score for all of the technical award criteria will be excluded. Furthermore, tenderers scoring less than 15 points for any one of the technical award criteria will be excluded. Evaluation on the basis of best value for money: The formula used by the ETF to calculate which offer represents the best value for money incorporates the score for the technical quality and price as described at paragraph 6.3 to the Guidelines for ETF public procurement (http://www.etf.europa.eu/web.nsf/pages/Open_tenders). 24 5. Checklist for submission of tender When submitting a tender you must acknowledge that you have read and understood the Guidelines for ETF public procurement (http://www.etf.europa.eu/web.nsf/pages/Open_tenders) and ensure that you have compiled your tender in accordance with the below checklist, to be attached to your technical proposal. Please Tick the boxes below I have read and understood the Guidelines for ETF public procurement I have read and I accept the terms and conditions of the draft contract I have submitted my tender within the stipulated deadline I have submitted my tender in three separate inner envelopes (A, B and C) within an outer envelope or parcel I clearly stated the following information on the outer envelope or parcel: The reference number of the Call for Tender (CFT/11/ETF/0038). The title of the tender The name of the tenderer The indication “Offer – Not to be opened by the internal mail service” The ETF address for submission of offers A clear postmark showing the date I have sealed the outer envelope or parcel with adhesive tape and signed across the seal I have drafted my tender in one of the official languages of the European Union Both the technical and financial proposals are signed by the tenderer’s legal representative I confirm that Envelope A contains one signed original of the following supporting documentation: The required Declaration on Exclusion Criteria The required evidence of the Selection Documentation The duly completed and signed Legal Entity Form and required supporting document(s) The duly completed and signed Financial Identification Form I confirm that Envelope B contains: One signed original and 3 copies of the technical proposal The present checklist duly signed and dated I confirm that Envelope C contains: One signed original of the financial proposal presented in the requested format Name (legal representative) Signature Date 25 PART B: DRAFT CONTRACT This draft contract, together with the ETF terms of reference and the successful tenderer’s offer technical and financial proposals – will form the legal agreement between the two parties for implementation of the service and all required administrative and financial conditions. 26