ANNEX 1 CALL FOR TENDER No. ERCEA/D2/PN/2012/28 "VENUE & CATERING FOR THE ERCEA AWAY DAY" TENDER SPECIFICATIONS 1. Title of contract "VENUE & CATERING FOR THE ERCEA AWAY DAY" 2. Purpose and context of the contract The European Research Council Executive Agency (hereafter ERCEA) would like to make use a contractor for tasks relating to a corporate staff gathering. The main purpose for the ERCEA staff to gather outside the office environment is to get to know each other and develop our team spirit. In this context, the choice of the venue is an important element for the success of the event. The Away Day will improve staff understanding of the objectives of the IDEAS Specific Programme and of the ERCEA core business and thus increase staff ownership of ERCEA objectives and strengthen awareness that the ERCEA is a team working towards a shared goal 1. A result of the Away Day should be to increase cooperation and communication and this should have a positive impact on staff productivity and efficiency. 3. Subject of contract In order to carry out these tasks, the ERCEA intends to conclude a purchase order of service for a period of one day and half and not renewable. The day for the event is on 20 September 2012 and the time will be from 08:00 to 20:00. We also need the availability of the venue the day before, 19 September, from 14:00 to 18:00 for the organization of the event. 1 The mission of the ERCEA is to implement the IDEAS Specific Programme for the benefit of the Scientific Community in Europe by financing frontier research projects and providing researchers in Europe with the means to conduct their research independently and by offering them attractive perspectives for a career in science. The ERCEA thus strives to make an important contribution to Europe's long term vision of becoming the most competitive and dynamic economy in the world. 1/7
On 19 September - The availability of the venue, and drinks (coffee, tea and water) for around 20 people. On 20 September - Welcome space (hall or room available for welcome speech) - Big room for the plenary session with possibility to move chairs and create groups of discussion (min. 300 people, max 370 people estimated 350 people) and minimum other 3 rooms for the other activities (min. 40 people) - Room equipment (one set of fixed microphone, 4 portable microphone, 10 flipcharts and 10 metaplans or other support to hang paper) - Exclusivity of the location for the event - A lunch buffet (cold and warm meals, dessert) including gluten free meal and vegetarian meal - A closure cocktail: wine, beer, juices and tapas/cocktail snacks - A breakfast: pastries/cakes/croissants, coffee/tea and juice - Coffee, tea and water available during the entire event - Humans resources: indication of number of people who will be allocated to the execution of the services This purchase order will cover the provision, according to the criteria indicated under point 7.2 The minimum number of participants will be 300 and the maximum 370. As an indication, likely participation is estimated around 350 participants. Payment is based on the number of participants confirmed by you a minimum of 5 days prior to the event. If additional participants attend, the fee will be adjusted, but will not be adjusted if fewer attend. The tender should formulate its offer in the financial tender document (Appendix I-B) on the basis of unit cost for each participant for catering. For the space and the human resources allocated for the event will be a lump sum. 4. Price - The tenderer recognises that the ERCEA is, pursuant to the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities annexed to the Treaty of 8 April 1965 establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities, exempt from all taxes and duties, including value added tax (VAT); such charges may not therefore be included in the calculation of the price quoted for the provision of services. The tender price must exclude VAT, with amounts expressed in euros and eurocents, including tenders from those countries that are not part of the EURO zone. - It is formally understood that the tenderer has included in his prices all expenses, whether direct or incidental, are essential in order to comply with the technical specifications and with all legal obligations. In submitting a tender, the tenderer acknowledges that he is aware of the work site and environment, the working conditions and any related risks and restrictions. - Costs incurred in preparing and submitting tenders shall be borne by the tenderers and cannot be reimbursed. 5. Terms of payment 2/7
The terms of payment are stipulated in the draft purchase order appended to the invitation to tender. If, for any reason, the annual budget of the European Union should not have been definitively adopted, with the result that the ERCEA is constrained to monthly expenditure corresponding to a twelfth of the corresponding expenditure for the previous year, the ERCEA shall have the right, by informing the service provider by registered letter by January 7 of the year in question at the latest, to pay all of the monthly fees, the amount of each monthly payment not exceeding one twelfth of the corresponding payments for the previous year. These monthly fees shall be payable within thirty (30) days of their presentation until the ERCEA is able to announce that it is in a position to continue with the normal payments as envisaged in the present contract. Following such notification, the service provider may request payment for those amounts that had not been paid as a result of this article. The application of this clause automatically excludes the imposition of interest for late payment. 6. Contractual terms and guarantees The contractual terms are stipulated in the draft purchase order appended to the invitation to tender. Tenderers may have recourse to sub-contractors in accordance with the provisions of the draft purchase order in appendix II to the invitation to tender. 7. Criteria 7.1 Exclusion criteria 7.1.1. Exclusion from participation in the negotiated procedure Tenderers must provide a declaration on their honour, duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in any of the situations described hereafter. Tenderers will be disqualified from taking part in the negotiated procedure if they: (a) are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs being administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations; (b) have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata; (c) have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify; (d) have not 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 they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed; (e) have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests; (f) are currently subject to an administrative penalty imposed by the contracting authority as a consequence of having been declared guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in a procurement procedure or as a consequence of having been declared to be in serious breach of their obligations under contracts covered by the Communities' budget. 7.1.2. Exclusion from award of the contract Tenderers must provide a declaration on their honour, duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in any of the situations described hereafter. 3/7
A contract shall not be awarded to tenderers who, during the negotiated procedure for this contract: (a) are subject to a conflict of interest; (b) are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the negotiated procedure or fail to supply this information; (c) find themselves in one of the situations of exclusion from participation in the negotiated procedure. 7.1.3. Declaration that there are no conflicts of interest Tenderers should declare that they: - do not have any conflict of interest in connection with the contract; a conflict of interest could arise in particular as a result of economic interests, political or national affinities, family or emotional ties, or any other relevant connection or shared interest; - will inform the contracting authority, without delay, of any situation constituting a conflict of interest or which could give rise to a conflict of interest; - have not made and will not make any offer of any type whatsoever from which an advantage can be derived under the contract; - have not granted and will not grant, have not sought and will not seek, have not attempted and will not attempt to obtain, and have not accepted and will not accept, any advantage, financial or in kind, to or from any party whatsoever, constituting an illegal practice or involving corruption, either directly or indirectly, as an incentive or reward relating to the award of the contract. The ERCEA reserves the right to check the above information. Evidence: A single declaration of honour and absence of conflict of interest is sufficient. The model of declaration of honour and absence of conflict of interest is attached as an Appendix II. 7.2 Award criteria - Best value-for money award: the contract is awarded to the tender with the best price-quality ratio, taking into account criteria justified by the subject of the contract Technical evaluation Financial evaluation Award of the contract The contract will be awarded on the basis of best value, taking into account the quality/technical of the services (60 points) and price (40 points). The quality and price evaluation will only take place when the tender has been judged to comply with the administrative requirements. 7.2.1 Qualitative evaluation of the technical tender The quality value of the technical tender shall be evaluated on the basis of 60 points (maximum) and shall relate to the specific organisational approach that the tender plans to implement in order to guarantee performance of the services. Tenders that do not achieve the minimum 36 points out of 60 shall be rejected and therefore shall not be taken into consideration for the subsequent financial evaluation. The evaluation of this organisational approach will be carried out according to the criteria below, 4/7
which the tenderer shall describe in his tender. CRITERIA 1. Clarity and conciseness of the tender: Good presentation facilitates reading and evaluation of the tender. The qualitative evaluation will therefore pay particular attention to this aspect. 2. Space Evaluation a) Welcome space (hall or room available for welcome speech) 6 b) Capacity (person) of the big room for the plenary session seated (min. 300, max. 370 estimation 350) c) Room equipment (one set of fixed microphone, 4 portable microphone, flipcharts and metaplans) d) Situation of the venue (i.e. possibility of outdoor breaks in terrace or garden / far from noise) and decoration of the buffet rooms d) Privacy (renting the whole location for the event) 4 e) Various separate meeting rooms (min 3, for min 40 people) for workshops and activities f) Other services (i.e. parking space for bus and cars etc.) 5 4 12 2 4 10 Maximum number of points 3. Catering: a) Buffet menu (specify if two courses meal, three courses meal, specify if there is a vegetarian meal, free gluten meal, specify if there is warm and cold meals) b) Type of meal (standing buffet with some seated places) 4 c) - Welcome breakfast (pastries/cakes/croissants) and coffee/tea/juice. - Coffee/tea/juice, water and cookies/chocolates have to be available during the entire event. - Closure Cocktail (wine, beer, juices and tapas/cocktail snacks) 4. Human Resources Indication of number of people in the team who will be allocated to execution of the services (split by category: catering, technicians for IT if necessary, welcome staff ) TOTAL (Minimum points required: 36 points) 60 points 4 3 2 7.2.2 Financial evaluation of the tender: For those tenders retained after the awarding of points for quality, the index for prices will be calculated as follows: The lowest total of the contractual financial tenders will be given an index of 40 points, and the other tenders still being considered will receive points according to the following formula: 5/7
Lowest tender price * 40 Price of the tender in question 7.2.3 Price/quality ratio The tender offering best value for money shall be established on the basis of the sum of the points received in the financial and quality evaluations. The purchase order shall be awarded to the tender that obtains the highest total. 8. Content and presentation of tenders NOTE: The offer shall include all information, descriptions, technical data, catalogues and photographs. It shall provide information on the services offered in relation to the aspects chosen as the criteria for award of the purchase order. The tender must: - be dated, bear the company stamp and be signed by the tenderer or his duly authorised representative; - be precise, concise, complete and perfectly legible such as to avoid any possible doubt as to the words and figures. These answers constitute the components to be evaluated by the contracting authority for the purpose of awarding the purchase order and, therefore, represent essential data. Incomplete or illegible answers may lead to the tender being excluded; The tender must be drawn up according to the provisions of these tender specifications and the appendices and must be entered into the submission summaries in Appendix II (I-A technical tender document; I-B financial tender document), with the documents mentioned therein attached, otherwise the tender will be excluded. The tenderer may complement these forms with separate sheets containing any other information that he considers useful in support of his tender. Note that documents I-A and I-B must each be placed in a separate envelope, clearly identified and sealed as specified in point 4 of the invitation to tender. If the tender documents are reproduced by the tenderer's word processing system, the tenderer shall ensure that no changes are made to the original wording. Otherwise, the tender may be disqualified. The tender shall be made up of all of the items listed below. - Honour and Conflict of interest declaration Declaration on conflict of interests, based on the model attached to the tender specifications, duly completed and signed. - Technical tender - Financial tender - Information relating to the legal and financial identification of the tenderer: 6/7
The tender must be accompanied by the following documents, based on the models appended to the tender specifications: Legal entity form (duly completed, dated and signed by the tenderer); Bank details form (duly completed, dated and signed by the tenderer, and stamped and signed by the bank). 9. Debts and claims The debts and claims on the ERCEA are non-transferable. 10. Applicable law The purchase order shall be governed by Community law, complemented, where applicable, by the national substantive law of Belgium. Any dispute between the parties resulting from the interpretation or application of the purchase order which cannot be settled amicably shall be brought before the courts of Brussels. 11. Appendices The following appendices form an integral part of the tender specifications and must be returned duly completed and signed at the same time as the tender: I. Submission summaries I-A Technical tender document (quality of tender) I-B Financial tender document (financial tender) II. Declaration of honour with respect to exclusion criteria and absence of conflict of interest (grounds for exclusion from purchase order award procedure) III. Legal entity form IV. Bank details form *** 7/7