Framework Contract for the acquisition of studies supporting Multisource Analytical Assessments

Transcription

1 Framework Contract for the acquisition of studies supporting Multisource Analytical Assessments Procurement Procedure Reference SATCEN-RP-03/18 Annex 2 to the invitation to submit a request to participate

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3 1. GENERAL INFORMATION Introduction to SatCen Type of Procurement procedure Tender Calendar Penalties TECHNICAL INFORMATION Objective and Scope of this Procurement Procedure Studies Supporting Multisource Analytical Assessments CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS Nature of the Contract Estimated value of the Contract Starting date of the contract and Duration Place of Performance Terms of payment and invoicing Confidentiality Ownership and exploitation of the Results of the Framework Contract Point of contact Participation of Consortia Subcontracting Reliance on other parties capacities ASSESSMENT OF THE REQUESTS TO PARTICIPATE Stages of the Assessment Eligibility Exclusion Criteria Minimum Requirements Selection criteria Rejection from the procedure How to submit a request to participate

4 1. GENERAL INFORMATION The present conditions for request to participate are attached to the Invitation to Participate and are intended to complement the information contained in the contract notice 2018/S providing to the Candidates further information on the procurement procedure and elements to allow them to prepare for the procurement process INTRODUCTION TO SATCEN In accordance with Council Decision 2014/401/CFSP, of 26 June 2014, the mission of the European Union Satellite Centre (hereinafter referred to as the SatCen or the Contracting Authority ) is to support the decision making and actions of the European Union in the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and in particular the Common Security and Defence Policy, including European Union crisis management missions and operations. To this end, the SatCen provides, at the request of the Council or the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, products and services resulting from the exploitation of relevant space assets and collateral data, including satellite and aerial imagery, and related services. The SatCen is a body of the European Union which has legal personality and enjoys the fiscal benefits granted to the European Institutions by the Member States of the European Union pursuant to the provisions of Articles 3, 4 and 18 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union (n 7) annexed to the Treaty of Rome and which apply to the SatCen by virtue of Article 13 of Council Decision 2014/401/CFSP, of 26 June 2014, on the European Union Satellite Centre. Further information can be found on the SatCen s website: TYPE OF PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE This procurement procedure is governed by the following legal provisions: A. Part 1, Title 5 of the Regulation (EC, Euratom) of the European Parliament and of the Council of No 966/2012 of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L298 of 26/10/2012) (the Financial Regulation ), available online at: B. Commission delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (the Rules of Application ), available online at: This call for tenders is based on a restricted procurement procedure in accordance with Article 104 of the Financial Regulation. This procedure is composed of two (2) successive and distinct phases: Phase I Invitation to Participate (the present call): - 2 -

5 Phase I concerns the selection of Candidates following the publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. In this phase any interested economic operator (including consortia) established in a Member State of the European Union ( EU ) or the European Economic Area ( EEA ) may submit a request to participate. Based on the information and documents provided in the requests to participate, Candidates will be selected (or excluded) according to the following criteria and requirements: - The eligibility criteria (section 4.2 of this document) - The exclusion criteria (section 4.3 of this document) - The minimum requirements to participate (section 4.4 of this document) - The selection criteria (section 4.5 of this document) Only candidates fulfilling all the criteria will be invited by the SatCen to submit a non-negotiable and binding tender. Phase II Invitation to Tender (separate invitation required): Phase II concerns the evaluation of tenders submitted by the candidates previously selected in Phase I. The tenders submitted in Phase II will be evaluated on the basis of the qualitative and financial evaluation criteria indicated in the Tender Specifications. Only selected candidates in Phase I will receive the "Invitation to Tender", which will contain further information relating to the scope of the contract, administrative procedure, contractual and financial issues, (guarantees, terms of payments, draft framework contract and draft specific contracts, etc.), the awarding procedure and the detailed technical specifications TENDER CALENDAR The Tender calendar, as currently envisaged, incorporates the following key dates: FIRST PHASE Contract Notice - Publication 13/06/2018 Deadline for submission of requests to participate 02/07/2018 SECOND PHASE Invitation to tender to selected candidates 31/07/2018 Contract Signature Mid- September 2018 Table1. Tender Calendar 1.4. PENALTIES Without prejudice to the application of liquidated damages under the terms of the contract to be awarded, Applicants, Tenderers and Contractors who have been guilty of making false declarations or have been found to have seriously failed to meet their contractual obligations in an earlier procurement or grant shall be subject to the administrative - 3 -

6 and financial penalties set out in Article 133 of Commission Regulation 2342/2002 of 23/12/2002. (OJ L 357 of 31/12/2002). 2. TECHNICAL INFORMATION 2.1. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF THIS PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE The objective of this procurement procedure is the award of a framework contract ( FWC ) for the acquisition of studies supporting Multisource Analytical Assessments in the field of border security STUDIES SUPPORTING MULTISOURCE ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENTS The aim of the FWC is to cover the on-demand supply of studies (or reports) supporting multisource analytical assessments that must include quantitative and qualitative data collection/analysis methodologies, literature reviews, geospatial analysis and the integration/analysis of disparate sources of current and previously collected data, in order to provide actionable information over a specific area of interest (AOI) that will be specified for each study. Actionable information consists of information that can be directly useful to customers for immediate exploitation without having to go through the full production process. 3. CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS 3.1. NATURE OF THE CONTRACT The FWC will set out the general contractual terms (legal, financial, technical, administrative, etc.) that apply to the commercial relations between SatCen and the Contractor during its whole period of validity. The tasks to perform will be governed by signed orders (or specific contracts). The FWC gives rise to no direct obligation for the Contracting Authority. Only the signing of orders creates a legal obligation for the purchase. Candidates attention is drawn to the fact that the FWC does not give rise to an obligation to place a specific contract/order but is merely designed to set up the legal, financial, technical, and administrative terms governing commercial relations between SatCen and the contractor(s) during Contract implementation. Signature of the FWC does not commit SatCen to place orders and does not give the contractor any exclusive rights to the services covered by the FWC. In any case, SatCen reserves the right, at any time during the term of the FWC, to cease placing orders without the contractor thereby having the right to any compensation ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE CONTRACT The maximum value of the Framework Contract is 1,000, (one million Euro), for its whole duration, including its possible renewals. The maximum contract value must in no way be construed as a commitment of the Contracting Authority to purchase for the maximum amount. The contract value is not subject to revision and applies for the whole duration of the FWC

7 3.3. STARTING DATE OF THE CONTRACT AND DURATION The FWC shall enter into force on the date on which it is signed by the contracting party signing last. The FWC signature is planned for Mid-September This FWC shall be in effect until 31 December Subject to budget availability, the FWC may be renewed up to 2 (two) additional periods of 12 (twelve) months each (up until 31 December 2020) PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The place of performance shall be the Contractor's premises, unless otherwise specified in the orders or specific contracts TERMS OF PAYMENT AND INVOICING The payment schedule throughout the implementation of the FWC will depend on the number of studies or reports delivered in response to the orders or specific contracts, and accepted by SatCen. Upon acceptance by the SatCen of the delivered studies or reports, the SatCen will authorise the Contractor via to submit an invoice in Euro equal to 100% of the total price of the relevant order or specific contract. The invoices must indicate the reference number of the contract and shall be sent by to Finance.Invoices@satcen.europa.eu, or by post to the following address: European Union Satellite Centre Attn: Finance unit Apdo de correos , Torrejon de Ardoz Madrid, Spain Payments will be made to the Contractor s bank account, denominated in euro, only after the SatCen has accepted the invoices for each order or specific contract. Subject to verification and acceptance of the deliveries and the invoice by the SatCen, payments shall be made no later than 30 (thirty) days from the date of their acceptance CONFIDENTIALITY In order to have access to the tender documents in Phase II, candidates are requested to submit in their Request to Participate a duly signed and dated Non-Disclosure Undertaking, using the template provided in the Standard Reply Form (Annex 1)

8 3.7. OWNERSHIP AND EXPLOITATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE FRAMEWORK CONTRACT The European Union shall acquire the ownership of all the results and intellectual property rights resulting from the performance of the Contract (foreground), from the moment the SatCen approves the results delivered by the Contractor. The European Union shall be granted, at no additional cost, a non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to use and modify all results, without limitation in time. This includes the right to grant sub-licenses. The European Union shall not acquire ownership of any pre-existing rights (background). All pre-existing rights shall be licensed to the European Union. The Contractor waives any intellectual property rights over the results of the FWC, including the rights to use and disseminate these results. If applicable, the Contractor shall ensure such a waiver from its subcontractors POINT OF CONTACT The contractor will nominate a person who will act as a single point of contact for all contractual matters during the term of the FWC. All correspondence related to this contract and its coordination will be addressed to this person, including the implementation of the specific Areas of Interest. SatCen will nominate a Contract Manager, who will act as a single contact point for all the matters related to the Contract implementation, including the implementation of the specific Areas of Interest PARTICIPATION OF CONSORTIA If candidates intend to submit a joint candidature in order to submit a joint tender during the second phase of this call for tenders, candidates must mention this fact in their candidature (in the cover letter of the Standard Reply Form), together with any other information in this respect. Joint candidates must specify the economic operator leading the project (the consortium leader) and submit the power of attorney authorising this economic operator to submit the Request to Participate and the Tender and, if applicable, sign the FWC on behalf of all the partners of the grouping or consortium. The template of power of attorney in favour of the Consortium Leader (representative of the grouping), provided in the standard reply form (Annex 1 to the invitation to submit a request to participate), needs to be signed by all the members of the grouping or consortium and returned together with the Request to Participate. Powers of attorney and authorisations may be originals or copies. If copies are submitted, the originals must be dispatched to the Contracting Authority upon request. All members of a consortium (i.e. the leader and all other members) are jointly and severally liable to SatCen for the fulfilment of all the tasks and responsibilities under the FWC or an order. Each member of the consortium must provide the required evidence for the eligibility, minimum requirements and exclusion and selection criteria, as provided in section 4 of this document. In case of joint tendering, a consolidated assessment of the combined capacities of all the members of the grouping shall be made. The composition of the consortium must not be altered during the life of the FWC. After the award of the contract, no consortium member can be replaced without the Contracting Authority s prior written authorisation and without the new member having signed the power of attorney in favour of the consortium leader. Candidates shall submit, along with their requests to participate, a cover letter indicating the names, contacts details and legal representatives of the proposed members of the grouping

9 3.10. SUBCONTRACTING Candidates may not select subcontractors other than those identified in the request to participate (cover letter), unless they obtain the prior written authorisation of the Contracting Authority. Candidates must indicate in their requests to participate which parts of the activities under the FWC will be subcontracted and to what extent (proportion in % of contract value). The contractor shall remain the sole person legally and financially responsible vis-à-vis the SatCen. Accordingly: SatCen will treat all contractual matters (e.g. payments) exclusively with the contractor, whether or not the tasks are performed by a subcontractor. The contractor shall remain bound by its obligations to the Contracting Authority under the FWC and shall guarantee the production and supply of the products and be solely liable for the proper performance of the FWC as if it were performing the subcontracted activities itself. Under no circumstance may the contractor transfer to the subcontractor, in whole or in part, its responsibility towards the Contracting Authority under the FWC or any Order. Where justified by the subject matter of the contract, a statement of confidentiality signed by subcontractors may be required to be submitted to SatCen. The subcontracting arrangement between the contractor and its subcontractor shall render directly applicable all relevant contractual obligations between SatCen and the contractor. Particular attention will be paid to the approach proposed by the contractor for the management of his/her subcontractors. The subcontractor must not further subcontract to other subcontractors. Subcontractors shall provide a Declaration on Honour (included in Annex 1 to the invitation to submit a request to participate), duly signed and dated by an authorised representative stating that they are not in any of the situations of exclusion listed in Articles 106 and 107 of the Financial Regulation, as well as the Legal Entity form (included in Annex 1 to the invitation to submit a request to participate), along with the supporting documents mentioned in this form (copies of register(s) of companies, official gazette, VAT registration, etc.). Candidates shall submit, along with their request to participate, a cover letter indicating the names and contacts details of the proposed subcontractors RELIANCE ON OTHER PARTIES CAPACITIES If a candidate intends to rely on other entities (e.g. subcontractors, parent company, other company in the same group, or third party) in order to achieve the required level of economic, financial, technical and professional capacity, it must prove in its request to participate that it will have their resources at its disposal. This obligation may be fulfilled by presenting statements from those entities or the grouping agreement. With regard to technical and professional criteria, an economic operator may only rely on the capacities of other entities where the latter will perform the works or services for which these capacities are required. If a third party provides the whole or a large part of the financial capacity, the SatCen may demand that that entity signs the contract, or alternatively, the third party may commit itself to execute the contract jointly and severally with the contractor by providing a letter or intent to that effect

10 4. ASSESSMENT OF THE REQUESTS TO PARTICIPATE 4.1. STAGES OF THE ASSESSMENT The assessment of the requests to participate will be carried out in the following successive stages: (1) Eligibility stage to verify, on the basis on the eligibility conditions defined in section 4.2, whether the tenderers (including consortium members) can participate in the procurement procedure; (2) Exclusion stage to verify, on the basis of the exclusion criteria defined in section 4.3, whether the tenderers (including consortium members and subcontractors) can take part in the procurement procedure; (3) Minimum requirements to verify whether the tenderers comply with the minimum requirements of the present invitation to participate, as defined in section 4.4; (4) Selection stage to verify whether the tenderers fulfil the capacity requirements, as defined in section 4.5: a. legal capacity; b. economic and financial capacity; c. technical and professional capacity. The assessment will be based on the information provided in the requests to participate. SatCen reserves the right to use any other information from public or specialist sources. If a tenderer does not pass one criteria, it will not be evaluated under the other categories. Tenderers capacity (selection stage) will not be assessed if tenderers are not eligible, fall under grounds of exclusion or do not meet the minimum requirements. All candidates will be informed of the decision regarding their request to participate as soon as the selection is completed ELIGIBILITY In order to be eligible, Candidates (natural or legal persons, as well as members of consortia or groupings) must have their registered offices or head offices in either one of the twenty-eight (28) Member States of the EU or in the EEA. In order to ascertain the eligibility Candidates must indicate in their request to participate the country in which they have their registered office or in which they are domiciled. They shall also submit the evidence required under their national law. This requirement must be attested by the Legal Entity Form (included in Annex 1 to the invitation to submit a request to participate), duly filled out and signed by an authorised representative, and supported by a copy of inscription in trade register and/or a copy of inscription in VAT register, where applicable EXCLUSION CRITERIA To be eligible to participate in this Contract award procedure, Candidates must not be in any of the exclusion situations referred to in Articles 106 and 107 of the Financial Regulation, which include: - 8 -

11 bankruptcy and insolvency situations; non-payment of taxes or social security contributions; grave professional misconduct; fraud, corruption, participation in a criminal organisation etc.; serious breach of contract. When submitting their requests to participate, each Candidate must provide a Declaration on Honour, using the form included in Annex 1 to the invitation to submit a request to participate, duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in any of the situations of exclusion listed in Articles 106 and 107 of the Financial Regulation. The supporting documents (extracts from judicial records and official certificates) confirming the declaration on honour, as required in Article 141(2) in conjunction with Article 141(3) of the Rules of Application, will be requested only to the successful tenderer(s) once the FWC is awarded. The SatCen makes use of the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES), a centralised database managed by the European Commission, in order to verify whether individuals or organisations are suitable to receive EU funding. That SatCen, as an entrusted entity in charge of implementing the EU budget, shall report to the European Commission any risk threating the Union s financial interests stemming from the grounds of exclusion identified in Articles 106 and 107 of the Financial Regulation. Candidates are expected to cooperate with the SatCen as regard the protection of the financial interests of the EU, by reporting any possible ground of exclusion as listed in Articles 106 and 107 of the Financial Regulation MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS Candidates must comply with applicable environmental, social and labour law obligations established by European Union law, national legislation, collective agreements or international environmental, social and labour law provisions listed in Annex X of Directive 2014/24/EU. This requirement must be attested with the declaration on honour form (included in Annex 1 to the invitation to submit a request to participate), duly completed and signed SELECTION CRITERIA Candidates must be eligible, have passed the exclusion stage and comply with the minimum requirements in order to be assessed at the selection stage. Candidates must fulfil all the legal, economic and financial capacity as well as the technical and professional capacity criteria required below, in order to pass to phase II and be invited to tender. Legal Capacity Candidates are required to prove that they are authorised to perform the Contract under national law, as evidenced by inclusion in a trade or professional register, or a sworn declaration or certificate, membership of a specific organisation, express authorisation, or entry in the VAT register. Evidence: Candidates (and, if applicable, members of consortia and subcontractors) are required to submit a Legal Entity Form (available in Annex 1 -standard reply form- of the invitation to submit a request to participate) duly filled - 9 -

12 out and signed, accompanied by a copy of inscription in trade register and/or a copy of inscription in VAT register, where applicable. Economic and Financial Capacity Candidates must have sufficient economic and financial capacity to guarantee continuous and satisfactory performance throughout the envisaged lifetime of the Contract. In order to prove their economic and financial capacity, candidates' average annual turnover must be equal to or greater than 750, (seven hundred fifty thousand Euro) for the last 2 closed fiscal years. Evidence: Candidates (and, if applicable, members of consortia and subcontractors) are required to fill in and submit a statement of the average turnover during the last 2 closed fiscal years (available in Annex 1 -standard reply formof the invitation to submit a request to participate), signed by an authorised representative of the Candidate. In case of joint requests to participate, the combined financial capacity of all the members of the consortium will be assessed. Technical and Professional Capacity Candidates shall have sufficient technical and professional capacity to guarantee continuous and satisfactory performance throughout the envisaged lifetime of the FWC. Professional and technical capacity to perform the required tasks shall be attested by filling in the questionnaires on professional experience provided in Annex 1 (standard reply form) to the invitation to submit a request to participate. In case of joint requests to participate, the combined capacity of all members of the consortium will be assessed. Selection criteria: A. Candidates shall have produced or published at least 5 (five) studies or reports in at least one of the following domains: (i) border security, (ii) human smuggling, or (iii) foreign and security policy, during the last 4 (four) years (2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015). B. Candidates shall have a dedicated team with expertise and skills in the following fields: 1. Country socio-economic, geopolitical and risk analysis including hot spot and trend analysis. 2. Forecasting in at least one of the following domains: (i) border security, (ii) human smuggling, or (iii) foreign and security policy. 3. Map creation and editing. 4. Publishing skills (editorial writer and/or columnist) in English. 5. Knowledge of written and spoken English at a level equivalent to C1 or higher is mandatory. Knowledge of French and a good understanding of EU neighbouring countries languages will be considered advantageous. C. Candidates shall have Open Source Information retrieval and analysis tools

13 D. Candidates shall have access to real-time media monitoring, journal resources, governmental and non-governmental databases. Map presentation skills with ESRI StoryMaps will be considered advantageous. Capability to conduct sentiment analysis of designated topics with quantitative and qualitative research in EU neighbouring countries will be considered advantageous. Evidence : Candidates shall fill in the selection criteria questionnaires included in Annex 1 to the invitation to submit a request to participate (standard reply form). Together with the questionnaires, the following documents or information shall be submitted as evidence of compliance with the technical and professional capacity criteria: Evidence for A: A List of studies or reports produced or published in the field of this call for tenders in the past 4 (four) years (2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015), indicating the title, a short description of the scope and subject matter of the study or report and the dates of production, delivery or publication. Evidence for B: A short CV for each of the dedicated team members, indicating work experience in the field of this call for tenders, education, training and technical skills as well as level of spoken and written English and, if applicable, French and EU neighbouring countries languages, using the template provided in Annex 1 to the invitation to submit a request to participate (standard reply form). Evidence for C: A short description of the Open Source Information and analysis tools to be used by the dedicated team. Evidence for D: An updated list of the resources available, including academic journal resources, governmental and non-governmental databases, broadcast media (TV/Radio), country risk databases, Open Sources (e.g. Blogs, YouTube, Social Media). SatCen reserves the right to request additional information and/or evidence if those provided do not allow a conclusive assessment REJECTION FROM THE PROCEDURE Candidates that are in any of the following situations will be rejected from the procedure: a) Are not eligible; b) are in an situation of exclusion; c) do not meet the minimum requirements; or d) do not comply with the capacity criteria

14 4.7. HOW TO SUBMIT A REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE The document Invitation to submit a request to participate posted on the SatCen s website ( contains all the details regarding the submission of candidatures