CALL FOR TENDERS EASME/COSME/2015/002 TENDER SPECIFICATIONS. Open Procedure

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1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) Department A COSME, H2020 SME and EMFF Unit A1 - COSME CALL FOR TENDERS Development of a guidance document and technical assistance to public procurers for EASME/COSME/2015/002 TENDER SPECIFICATIONS Open Procedure Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND CONTEXT GENERAL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION OF TASKS Indicative methodology EXPECTED RESULTS INPUT BY EASME STARTING DATE OF THE CONTRACT AND DURATION PLACE OF PERFORMANCE PLANNING AND DELIVERABLES Inception report, interim report, draft guidance document and draft version of the publication materials Final report PAYMENT TERMS CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION MATTERS INFORMATION ON TENDERING ELIGIBILITY VOLUME OF THE MARKET LOTS VARIANTS TENDERS FROM CONSORTIA SUB-CONTRACTING COSTS CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS FORM AND CONTENTS OF THE TENDERS SUBMISSION OF TENDERS STRUCTURE OF TENDERS Section 1 Administrative proposal Section 2 Technical proposal Section 3 - Financial offer EVALUATION AND AWARD OF THE CONTRACT EVALUATION STEPS Page 2 of 26

3 3.2. EXCLUSION CRITERIA (ARTICLES 106, 107 OF THE FINANCIAL REGULATION) SELECTION CRITERIA Economic and financial capacity criteria and evidence Technical and professional capacity criteria and evidence AWARD CRITERIA INFORMATION TO TENDERERS ON THE FINAL EVALUATION ANNEXES Page 3 of 26

4 EASME/COSME/2015/002 Development of a guidance document and technical assistance to public procurers for bio-based products 1. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 1.1. INTRODUCTION The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (henceforth "EASME") 1, acting under powers delegated by the European Commission, is launching this invitation to tender for the development of a guidance document to procurers in Europe for. This guidance should be about encouraging the active exchange of information on bio-based products, allowing for future procurement criteria development based on available standards. This tender is in the context of activities on by the European Commission Directorate General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) (later referred to as DG GROW) BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND CONTEXT Bio-based products Background Information Bio-based products are products that are wholly or partly derived from materials of biological origin, excluding materials embedded in geological formations and/or fossilised 2. The term "biobased" expresses that the products are made from biological raw materials such as plants and trees that are renewable raw materials. Bio-based products can substitute fossil-based products. The fact alone that a product is bio-based does not ensure that it is preferable from a sustainability point of view. Therefore and whenever possible, only with lower environmental, social and economic impacts compared to conventional products, based on a Life Cycle Assessment, should be promoted. This includes the question of the overall availability of biomass, given the competing interests such as food and energy production, building materials, and the preservation of biodiversity, etc. Less consumption of natural resources lowers production cost and is better for the environment. For this potential to come true, the markets for the new products need to grow fast. This means that they have to satisfy various end-used requirements at a competitive cost and that their entire life cycle - from conception over production and transportation to waste - is environmentally friendly. Perceived uncertainty about product properties and weak market transparency however hinder the fast take-up of those products. This is all the more regrettable, as Europe is well placed in this market area, building on a leading technological and industrial position. 1 2 EASME was set up by Commission implementing decision of 17 December 2013 establishing the "Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized enterprises" and repealing decisions 2004/20/EC and 2007/372/EC (OJ L 341 of ). EASME replaces and supersedes former Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI). CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) - Report on Mandate M/429 taken from COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS - Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A Bioeconomy for Europe, COM(2012) 60 final, Brussels, Page 4 of 26

5 Bio-based products are products which are wholly or partly derived from biomass and include intermediates, materials and semi-finished or final products. They range from high-value added fine chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food additives, to high volume materials such as bio-polymers or chemical feedstock. Examples of include: amino acids; chemical and pharmaceutical building blocks; composite materials based on natural fibres; cosmetics; enzymes; lubricants; organic acids; paints; plastics and polymers; solvents; surfactants; and textiles made from natural fibres. Bio-based products are applied in different areas including: 1) house and home, including construction; 2) office and business; 3) lifestyle, travel and transport; 4) disposables and packaging. Different lists of available can be consulted from various websites: The first web-based list is available from NNFCC 3 in the UK that is a leading international consultancy with expertise on the conversion of biomass to bioenergy, biofuels and biobased products - The second web-based list is available from Valbiom that is an organisation in Belgium active in the area of valorisation of non-food biomass - The third web-based list is available from FNR (Agency for Renewable Resources) that was founded in 1993 by the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and is responsible to support research and development in the area of renewable resources - and and The fourth list is published by ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency at pdf. 3 National Non-Food Crops Centre Page 5 of 26

6 The fifth web-based list is available from the Nova-Institute in Germany - Moreover, the Bioeconomy Information System and Observatory (Bioeconomy Observatory) that is established by the JRC Joint Research Center of the European Commission is currently performing a study commissioned to E4tech and Agra CEAS Bio-based products Market Based on an assessment done in the context of the recent Communication of the European Commission 5 "Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A Bioeconomy for Europe", the segment of bio-based industries in the European Union (EU) currently represents approximately 57 billion in annual turnover with jobs involved. Bio-based industries encompasses as main categories: 1) "Bio based lubricants, polymers, surfactants, solvents and chemical building blocks"; 2) "Enzymes 6 "; and 3) "Biofuels", estimated respectively at 50 billion, 0.8 billion and 6 billion annual turnover. The scope of the bio-based industries includes the combination of biobased products and biofuels. An estimate by McKinsey indicates that approximately 10 % of all chemicals are currently derived from bio-based feedstock 7. OECD estimates 8 (based on sources from the US Department of Agriculture) are in the same range and provide additional detail for major categories of chemicals. The range of is wide and includes for example bio-based polymers, lubricants, composites, fine chemicals and others. A study by Festel 9, assessing the percentage of all chemical sales based on industrial biotechnological processes estimates that around 6.2 % of global chemical sales were industrial biotechnology based on data from It forecasts this share to rise to 12.3 % by 2015 and to 22 % by 2020, a compounded annual growth rate over the entire decade of close to 20 %. With European chemical sales in 2010 amounting to 491 billion 10 the segment can be estimated to correspond to a turnover of approximately 50 billion and is estimated to involve direct and total jobs. 11 Many categories of have additional and specific environmental benefits such as for example biodegradability (e.g. for polymers, lubricants & detergents). According to the ad-hoc group on lead markets, the market share of biobased products in the EU remains low or confined to specific market niches. Other countries 4 The European Commission's Joint Research Centre - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) has commissioned E4tech ( and Agra CEAS ( to complete a Study of the EU bio-based industry. The study sets out to describe the current status and expected evolution of the bio-based industry within the EU, and is focused on providing a robust evidence basis regarding the production of bio-based chemicals and materials by non-traditional methods, excluding food/feed, bioenergy and biofuel products which are out of scope. 5 COM(2012)60 and SWD(2012)11 6 Often applied as "intermediate products" in the bio-based industries, enzymes are proteins that are used to "catalyse" certain chemical reaction steps that are essential in the production process of biochemical or biofuels. 7 Mc. Kinsey report 8 Organisation for Economic and Cooperation development (OECD) - The bioeconomy to 2030: designing a policy agenda" (2009) 9 Festel, G. Presentation at the 4th Annual European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology & The Biobased Economy Amsterdam, October 20, The chemical industry in Europe: Towards sustainability 2011/12 report CEFIC, The European Chemical Industry Council ( 11 Taking 10 % of total employment of the chemical sector reported in CEFIC report. Page 6 of 26

7 outside the EU are rapidly moving in and are overtaking the EU in terms of deployment of biobased industries Industrial Policy Update - Task Force Activities on Bio-based products Creating effective links between demand-side with supply-side tools will be an issue for the EU, all Member States, and in many cases, also regions. For that reason, the European Commission started the Lead-Market Initiative (LMI). The LMI was the European policy for six important sectors that are supported by actions to lower barriers to bring new products or services onto the market. The European Commission, Member States and industry worked together to carry out the action plans for the six Lead Markets. The Lead Market Initiative for was completed by the end of In the framework of the Lead-Market Initiative, the Commission appointed an Ad-hoc Advisory Group for composed of representatives from national governments, industry and academia. This Ad-hoc Advisory Group for has carried out its tasks according to its remit and prepared a range of documents containing a priority list of recommendations to enable the market uptake of. These priority recommendations which the group agreed on were viewed as being central to the realization of a coherent political framework for supporting biobased economy in a long-lasting manner. Both the LMI Communication and the Report 13 from the Ad-hoc Advisory Group for in the framework of the European Commission s Lead Market Initiative concluded that standards may facilitate the development of Lead Markets. Standards should preferably be performance-based, technology-neutral and facilitate the market uptake of, both on consumer markets and in public procurement. The first standardisation documents are now available addressing bio-based polymers and bio-based lubricants as first bio-based product groups 14. Also, a CEN report 15 on the Mandate for the programming of standards for all types of was received and lead to two new standardisation mandates covering bio-based surfactants, solvents and as a whole. Bio-based products can be of high societal and economic interest due to several positive factors 16 including, e.g., use of renewable resources, their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, their potential for sustainable industrial production, often low toxicity, often high bio-degradability or compostability, support to rural development and increased industrial competitiveness through innovative. These factors combined with the standardisation outputs led to successful labelling work as part of the European ECO-Labelling ( started by publishing the first Commission Decision 2005/360/EC on establishing ecological criteria and the related assessment and verification requirements for lubricants. In Green Public Procurement (GPP), a voluntary instrument, the use of renewable raw materials is addressed in product groups (e.g. packaging materials, lubricants, all-purpose cleaners and dish washers, etc.). 12 Ad-hoc Advisory Group for in the framework of the European Commission s Lead Market Initiative (2009), "Taking Bio-Based From Promise To Market - Measures to promote the market introduction of innovative ". 13 Ad-hoc Advisory Group for in the framework of the European Commission s Lead Market Initiative (2009), "Taking Bio-Based From Promise To Market - Measures to promote the market introduction of innovative ". 14 See or via and 15 See footnote European Commission report "Accelerating the development of the market for in Europe" which was prepared in connection with the Communication on the Lead Market Initiative (COM(2007) 860 final). Page 7 of 26

8 Need for guidance International and general aspects Public authorities in Europe are responsible for over 2 trillion in expenditure each year, or 19% of the EU s GDP 17. This represents a major opportunity for the public sector to foster sustainable consumption and production and private entities, especially SMEs, to benefit. In the USA the BioPreferred program 18 was created by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill), and expanded by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) 19. The purpose is to increase the purchase and use of. The United States Department of Agriculture manages the program. BioPreferred includes: a preferred procurement program for Federal agencies and their contractors; and a voluntary labelling program for the broad scale consumer marketing of bio-based products. Under the procurement program, BioPreferred designates categories of that are required for purchase by Federal agencies and their contractors. As a part of this process, the minimum bio-based content is specified. Going forward, bio-based intermediate ingredients and feedstocks will be included in the designation process. Under the voluntary labelling program, that meet the BioPreferred program requirements carry a distinctive label for easier identification by the consumer. In the USA public procurement provides preferences to when available, while in the EU there can be no preference given for one product over another one and in order to help in the implementation of the recommendations 20 from the Ad-Hoc Advisory Group for the Lead Market Initiative of Bio-Based Products there is a need for user-friendly guidance that informs public procurers in relation to includes general information on what and what their capabilities and functionalities are compared other products available on the market. This guidance should address in public procurement, by encouraging the active exchange of information on (availability and capabilities, sustainability concerns that need to be addressed), including experiences of public procurers, allowing for procurement criteria development based on available standards and finally facilitating the up-take of. This work should also build upon the findings that the need of public procurers in relation to includes general information on what mean and what their capabilities and functionalities are compared to other products available on the market. Moreover, information on their availability from different sources and where these sources are located is needed as well. The European Commission Expert Group on 21 started working on these and related aspects including assessing which additional needs exist. 17 See 18 See 19 The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub.L , H.R. 2419, 122 Stat. 923, enacted May 22, 2008, also known as the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill) was a $288 billion, five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress on June 18, See for more information: 20 See and footnote Page 8 of 26

9 The legal basis for this tender is the COSME financing decision 22 and its Annex 23, Work Programme 2015, Supporting Measure GRO/SME/15/C/N142 Bio-based product markets GENERAL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES The service request will involve the development of a robust and user-friendly guidance that should address in procurement, encouraging the active exchange of information on (availability, capabilities and sustainability concerns) including experiences of procurers, allowing for procurement criteria development based on available standards and finally facilitating the up-take of. Also, different publication materials such as brochures and leaflets shall be prepared to further promote the dissemination of the prepared guidance document at different event types including training meetings, workshops and conferences for different target audiences. This should allow for increasing the information base of different sectors (e.g. packaging materials, lubricants, allpurpose cleaners and dish washers, insulation materials, etc.) and buyers groups on bio-based products aiming especially for possible future use in mass events such as city festivities or sport events. This robust and user-friendly guidance should also allow the promotion of new and innovative purchasing methods and strategies, increasing emphasis on the need for best practice and best value for money in an expanding procurement market and. The aim would be to obtain a successful uptake of this guidance by as many as possible national, regional, local and private procurement organisations. This guidance should also allow steps to be followed in conducting an appropriate competitive process under EU and national rules. The guidance should also allow for future revision and updating as required when used by different innovation procurement activities; this guidance and its updates and revisions should be publishable and disseminated to the broadest possible level for viewing and downloading at any time and situation including also a series of training and information workshops and events in different Member States and regions building upon the activities of the Commission Expert Group on and different EU-Projects as specified in this document. The focus of this guidance is on bio-based products as outlined above and should also be embedded within the competitive process that is usually followed by contracting authorities, i.e. Government Departments, local and regional authorities and other State as well as private bodies in the award of contracts for supplies and services. Hence, national, regional, local private procurement bodies and there sector plus buyers groups (e.g. packaging materials, lubricants, all-purpose cleaners and dish washers, insulation materials, etc.) are the major target group of this guidance. It is also very important that this guidance adheres to the general rules of the procurement function that is to be discharged honestly, fairly, and in a manner that secures best value for public money as well as ensuring that contracting authorities are cost effective and efficient in the use of resources while upholding the highest standards of probity and integrity. Based on the above general requirements this guidance should also: - describe clearly and in detail the terminology and nomenclature related and the bioeconomy; 22 Commission Implementing Decision of on the adoption of the work programme for 2015 and the financing for the implementation of the Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and small and mediumsized enterprises, C(2014) 8044 final. 23 Annex to the Commission Implementing Decision concerning the adoption of the work programme for 2015 and the financing for the implementation of Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, C(2014) 8044 final. Page 9 of 26

10 - describe clearly and in detail the availability and use of standards for that can be used for criteria setting in public procurement covering various aspects such as sampling, bio-based carbon and bio-based content, mass balance approach, application of and correlation towards LCA, sustainability indicators and assessment of biomass used for including the sustainability of, tools for a certification scheme for bio-based products, inform about which characteristics can be assessed and how they can be reported; - include information about the availability of by compiling a list of possible and accessible information sources; - include a dedicated section on the issues to be addressed in order to ensure the sustainability of, wherever possible; - build upon different available EU, national, regional and local projects or activities relevant to the formulation of such guidance including, e.g. GPP toolkit documents, expert systems, approaches, etc..; - identify additional elements which may need to be taken into account and which are not normally addressed in public procurement guidance but are important for ; - benchmark this guidance against other relevant existing guidance, integrating comments and conclusions resulting from various sources at literature, national, regional and local as well as Commission services level SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION OF TASKS Each tenderer shall in its proposal explain in detail the methodology that will be used for developing this robust and user-friendly guidance. It should be based on robust knowledge (literature research, comparison of EU, national, regional, local practice/guidance in this field, interviews with experts), and practical demonstrations or assessments, without however referring to examples or test cases in a formal manner. Throughout the contract the contractor shall regularly inform the European Commission of the progress of the work and any important issues that may arise. Each tenderer is invited to set out, in its offer, the specific methodology that it proposes for this Service Request. In general terms, however, the European Commission anticipates that the work will entail at least the following elements. The tenderer is invited to describe how it proposes to fit the tasks together in terms of timing, substance and geographical scope Indicative methodology The work to be undertaken in this contract will comprise: Task 1: Preparing the knowledge base The contractor shall collate and compile all relevant information from different sources useful for the preparation of robust and user-friendly guidance allowing for increasing the information base of different sectors (e.g. packaging materials, lubricants, all-purpose cleaners and dish washers, insulation materials, etc.) and buyers groups. It shall do this on the basis of literary and Page 10 of 26

11 web-sites review, interviews, working together with the Commission Expert Group on Bio-Based Products that started working on procurement and including the assessment of additional existing needs as well as by linking up with EU-Projects such as KBBPPS 24, OPEN-BIO 25 and EU-InnoProBio-Project (Forum for Bio-based Innovation in Public Procurement) that starts in early 2015 under Horizon 2020 having a life time of 36 months. In this respect, the contractor shall also ensure appropriate budget allocation for relevant meetings. He/she should also prepare a short questionnaire, using closed rather open questions, for public procurers followed by telephone interviews to obtain inputs for specific needed characteristic of such guidance for in order to ensure a fast and successful uptake of this guidance. The findings will be summarized in a documented report. Task 2: Drafting pilot guidance The contractor should prepare an initial draft guidance version that will be tested for its robustness, user-friendliness and subsequent future use by a limited number of national, regional and local public procurers making use of the European Commission Expert Group and the EU-Projects referred to earlier. The main purpose of this initial screening would be to boost clarity, robustness and user-friendliness for future application. The contractor shall also test the draft version with representatives from national, regional and local procurement bodies. If, as a result of this initial screening, problems persist necessary updating will be performed and the findings will be summarized in a documented report. For the execution of this task the contractor should link up and with the European Commission Expert Group and the different EU-Projects referred to earlier. In this respect, the contractor shall also ensure appropriate budget allocation for relevant meetings. Task 3: Preparation of the final guidance The contractor shall prepare based on the results of the tasks 1 and 2 the final guidance in English. The contractor shall provide an electronic and a paper version of this guidance in task 3 for final approval by the European Commission and allowing for publishing and dissemination at the broadest possible level for viewing and downloading at any time and situation including also a series of training, demonstration and information workshops and events in different Member States and Regions and linking up with the European Commission Expert Group and the different EU-Projects referred to earlier. In this respect, the contractor shall also ensure appropriate budget allocation for relevant meetings. Task 4: Dissemination and information material The contractor shall prepare different publication materials (all together 200 units) such as brochures and leaflets to further promote the dissemination of the prepared guidance document at different event types such as training meetings and training of trainers, workshops, web-sites, blogs, social media, internet and related platforms as well as conferences 26 for different target audiences. A close collaboration with relevant existing and EU For example, ECO-PROCURA in Belgium - see Page 11 of 26

12 Projects such as KBBPPS 27 and OPEN-BIO 28 is required as well as by feeding the publication material into the EU-InnoProBio-Project (Forum for Bio-based Innovation in Public Procurement) that starts in 2015 and will run for 36 months. The contractor shall test the draft version of these publication materials with representatives from national, regional and local procurement bodies by making active use of the European Commission Expert Group on biobased products and the EU-InnoProBio-Project before a final version is finally being delivered to the European Commission for final approval. In this respect, the contractor shall also ensure appropriate budget allocation for relevant meetings EXPECTED RESULTS In the course of the project, the contractor will provide analysis and results concerning the objectives and tasks specified. See section 1.8 "Planning and deliverables". The data to be used in the analytical analysis is to be discussed with the European Commission and needs already to be detailed to some extent in the contractor's proposal. The purchase of all necessary proprietary data should be included in the budget of the proposal. Warning : for the preparation of the tender, the potential tenderers must however comply with the full details given in point 1.4 and not restrict themselves to the general descriptions just given. Glossary of Terms: Renewable raw materials: Renewable raw materials come from renewable resources including vegetable oil, starch, sugar and cellulose can be converted, using different technologies, into a range of. These include biopolymers, bio-based lubricants, bio-based surfactants, speciality and platform chemicals, composites and construction materials. Bio-based products: Products are made from biological raw materials such as plants and trees that are renewable raw materials Biorefineries: Biorefineries like oil refineries use different processing steps transforming diversified types of biomass via integrated processing approaches into different industrial products. Lead-Market Initiative (LMI): The LMI is the European policy for six important sectors that are supported by actions to lower barriers to bring new products or services onto the market. The European Commission, Member States and industry work together to carry out the action plans for the six Lead Markets. The policy instruments deal with regulation, public procurement, standardisation and supporting activities. The LMI identified the following markets: e-health, Protective textiles, Sustainable construction, Recycling, Bio-based products and Renewable energies. Custom Nomenclature (CN): The CN is a method for designating goods and merchandise which was established to meet, at one and the same time, the requirements both of the 27 KBBPPS: Knowledge Based Bio-based Products Pre-Standardization EU-Project; for more information see: Page 12 of 26

13 Common Customs Tariff and of the external trade statistics of the EU. The CN is also used in intra-community trade statistics. PRODCOM: EUROSTAT s Production Statistics PRODCOM provides statistics on the production of manufactured goods. The term comes from the French "PRODuction COMmunautaire" (Community Production) for mining, quarrying and manufacturing: sections B and C of the Statistical Classification of Economy Activity in the European Union. BRIDGE PPP or BBI-JU: BRIDGE stands for Bio-based and Renewable Industries for Development and Growth in Europe or BBI-JU stands for Bio-Based Industry Joint Undertaking. It is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) on bio-based industries being established in cooperation between the European Commission and bio-based industries. Industrial cluster symbioses: This is a network of industrial production sites where one partner s by-product and/or waste is the raw material in another partner s industrial production site. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) SPIRE: A proposal for a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) dedicated to innovation in resource and energy efficiency and enabled by the process industries. Its objective is to develop the enabling technologies and solutions along the value chain, required to reach long term sustainability for Europe in terms of global competitiveness, ecology and employment. Bioeconomy Information System and Observatory (Bioeconomy Observatory): The Bioeconomy Information System and Observatory (Bioeconomy Observatory) has been established in collaboration with the JRC and building on existing information systems. The Observatory will perform EU capacity mapping, technology watch, bioeconomy policy outlook, and market monitoring in various areas related to the bioeconomy, as well as forward looking analyses at EU and world-wide levels. Bio-based economy: A public goods-oriented bio-based economy based on production paradigms that rely on biological processes and, as with natural ecosystems, use natural inputs, expend minimum amounts of energy and do not produce waste as all materials discarded by one process are inputs for another process and are reused in the ecosystem. EU-InnoProBio-Project: This EU-InnProBio-Project supported by the European Commission will develop a public procurement community on innovative and services (BBPS) and provide the relevant tools for procurement practitioners to inform themselves about relevant product solutions and how they could fit BBPS into their innovation procurement strategy INPUT BY EASME Not applicable STARTING DATE OF THE CONTRACT AND DURATION It is expected that the contract is signed approximately in September The contract shall enter into force on the date on which it is signed by the last contracting party. The duration of the tasks shall not exceed 18 months from that date. The execution of the tasks shall not start before the contract has been signed or before the specific date specified in the contract. Work will follow the timetable detailed below. Page 13 of 26

14 Amendments may be made to the contract only in exceptional cases where the amendment is considered by EASME to be necessary for the completion of the project and following the provisions of the draft contract. EASME reserves the right to make use of a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice for additional contracts involving services similar to those assigned to the party awarded the initial contract by the same contracting authority. That procedure may be used only during the 12 months following conclusion of the original contract PLACE OF PERFORMANCE N.A PLANNING AND DELIVERABLES The service provider must provide the required reports and documents accompanying the requests for payments in accordance with the conditions of the standard service contract. The estimated timetable of the deliverables is the following: 1. Inception meeting including an inception report setting out the methodology and time schedule for the work: after the first 2 weeks after start of the project. 2. Interim report, the draft guidance document and draft version of the publication materials: within 10 months after the inception meeting. 3. The final guidance and all publication materials: within 18 months of the start of the project. An inception meeting will be organised in Brussels between the contractor and the European Commission Services within the first two weeks after signature of the contract. The contractor shall present at the inception meeting a proposed methodology to perform the contract. The working language at this and following meetings will be English. In addition to the inception meeting, the contractor shall be available, upon request of the European Commission, to attend teleconferences and at least two meetings in Brussels to discuss the progress made and the various tasks. The contractor shall submit notes of any such meetings within two weeks of their having taken place. The language of the reports and all documentation produced in the context of this contract must be English. The final report shall be provided electronically and in three paper copies Inception report, interim report, draft guidance document and draft version of the publication materials The specific deliverables shall include all the elements specified in section 1.8 "Planning and deliverables". EASME will agree on all decisions on the content of every deliverable with DG GROW. Page 14 of 26

15 The EASME will comment on the document submitted within the period indicated in the planning table below. If the contracting authority has not reacted within this period, the specific deliverable shall be deemed to have been approved Final report The draft final report shall include all the elements specified in the sections 1.8 "Planning and deliverables". EASME will agree on all decisions on the content of every deliverable with DG GROW. The EASME will comment on the document submitted within the period indicated in the planning table below. If the contracting authority has not reacted within this period, the final report shall be deemed to have been approved. Within the period indicated in the planning table below, the service provider will submit the final report in its definitive form, taking full account of the observations made by EASME on the draft final report, either by following them precisely or by explaining clearly why they have not done so. EASME will accept the final report in its definitive form or comment on it within the period indicated in the planning table below. If EASME has not reacted within this period, the final report shall be deemed to have been approved. Should EASME still not consider the final report acceptable, the service provider may be invited to amend it; in this case liquidated damages will be applied in accordance with Article II.12 of the contract. Should the contracting authority reject the final report, EASME may terminate the contract in accordance with Article II.14 of the contract. Indicative Timetable Meetings Actions/Deliverables September 2015 After the first 2 weeks after start of the project Start of the project + max. 30 days Start date of the contract Inception meeting including an inception report setting out the methodology and time schedule for the work EASME acceptance of the inception report 30% interim payment Within 10 months after acceptance of the inception meeting Interim report, the draft guidance document and draft version of the publication materials days EASME comments Page 15 of 26

16 30% interim payment on acceptance of the interim report Within 18 months of the start of the project. The final guidance and all publication materials days EASME acceptance 40% final payment on acceptance of the final report PAYMENT TERMS In drawing up their tenders, tenderers should take account of the provisions of the enclosed draft contract (annex 1) which include the "General terms and conditions applicable to service contracts". Payments under the contract will be made upon receipt of the corresponding invoices in accordance with the provisions specified in Articles I.4 and II.15 of the draft service contract CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION MATTERS Confidentiality is required of all persons working or collaborating directly or indirectly in the performance of tasks following this call for tender, as they might come into contact with confidential information during the course of their work. Any breach of confidentiality will be treated as professional misconduct and could lead to the termination of the contract as set out in Article II.5 of the draft service contract. The institutions reserve the right to instigate any legal proceedings for breach of confidentiality necessary. Specific requirements relating to personal data and the protection thereof are set out in the contract. The contractor is responsible for ensuring that all data to which he/she or his/her staff become party during the execution of the contract must be treated confidentially and in conformity with EC regulation 45/ The contractor is equally responsible for ensuring the application of this obligation in respect of any of his/her direct or indirect sub-contractors. 2. INFORMATION ON TENDERING 2.1. ELIGIBILITY This invitation to tender is open to tenderers from the Member States of the European Union and the European Economic Area 30. Participation in tendering procedures is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons in a third country which has a special agreement with the EU in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 "on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data", OJ L 8 of States covered by the Public Procurement Agreement concluded within the World Trade Organisation are not included in this call for tenders as the EU Executive Agencies are not signatories of the Agreement. Page 16 of 26

17 2.2. VOLUME OF THE MARKET The estimated maximum amount for the execution of all the tasks referred to in this call for tenders is 125,000 including all charges and expenses. No contract offer above this amount will be considered LOTS Not applicable to the present invitation to tender VARIANTS Tenderers may not submit tenders for only part of the services required. Variants are not allowed TENDERS FROM CONSORTIA A joint tender is a situation where a tender is submitted by a group of economic operators (consortium). The EASME will not request consortia to have a given legal form in order to be allowed to submit a tender, but reserves the right to require a consortium to adopt a given legal form before the contract is signed, if this change is necessary for the proper performance of the contract. This can take the form of an entity with or without legal personality but offering sufficient protection of the EASME s contractual interests (depending on the Member State concerned, this may be, for example, a consortium or a temporary association). If a consortium is envisaged, its composition should be specified, and the documents necessary to demonstrate fulfilment of the exclusion and selection criteria (see below) must be provided for each individual member of the consortium. In addition, one of the consortium members must be designated as lead contractor, and must ensure full responsibility towards the EASME as regards both the tender and the future framework contract. The contract will be signed with the designated lead contractor. The tender must clearly indicate the lead contractor and the relationship and roles of all members of the partnership or consortium. Partners in a joint offer assume joint and several liabilities towards the EASME for the performance of the contract as a whole, despite any statements in the offer assigning responsibility to specific members of the consortium. Should such statements appear in the tender, the EASME reserves the right to reject it without further evaluation, on the grounds that it does not comply with the tender specifications SUB-CONTRACTING Subcontracting is defined as the situation where a contract has been or is to be established between the contracting authority and a contractor and where the contractor, in order to carry out that contract, enters into legal commitments with other legal entities for performing part of the work. Page 17 of 26

18 Subcontracting is permitted in the tender but the contractor will retain full liability towards the contracting authority for performance of the contract as a whole. The EASME has no direct legal commitment with the subcontractor(s). The tenderers must indicate clearly in their methodology, which parts of the work will be subcontracted, and the identity of all subcontractors undertaking more than 20% of the work by value. Service providers must ensure that Article II.7 of the draft service contract can be applied to subcontractors. Once the contract has been signed, Article II.18 of the aforementioned contract will apply to subcontractors. During contract execution, the change of any subcontractor identified in the tender will be subject to EASME s written approval COSTS Tenderers themselves will bear the costs of drawing up their tenders and EASME will not be liable to pay any compensation if a tender is rejected or if it decides not to select any tender CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS The tenderer shall bear in mind the provisions of the draft service contract which specify the rights and obligations of the contractor, particularly those on payments, performance of the contract, confidentiality and checks and audits FORM AND CONTENTS OF THE TENDERS All tenders, including the forms annexed to this document, must be signed by an authorised person or by the tenderer's legal representative. Tenders must be clear and concise, with continuous page numbering, and assembled in a coherent fashion (e.g. bound or stapled, etc.). Since tenderers will be judged on the contents of their written bids, these must make it clear that they are able to meet the requirements set out in the specifications. Tenders may be drafted in any official language of the European Union 31. Should a language other than English be used, EASME requests the inclusion of a summary in English, to facilitate and speed up the selection process. Tenders must be delivered according to the requirements set out in the letter of invitation to tender and the present specifications, and before the date and time indicated in that letter. Tenders must include the following information: All the information and documents requested by EASME, duly filled in and signed, in order to assess the different criteria. A checklist of the documents to submit is provided in Annex 8; 31 Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish. Page 18 of 26

19 for the appraisal, the written submission shall include a clear and detailed description of the organisation, resources and methodology proposed. The tenderers will provide a practical and detailed description of the resources and services proposed to achieve the objectives and results set out in points 1.3 and 1.5 above; the price in Euro SUBMISSION OF TENDERS Tenders must be submitted in triplicate (one clearly marked "Original" and two copies) in paper form. In order to facilitate the work of copying the tenders where necessary, it is requested that one of the copies (identical to the original) should be presented in a non-bound format allowing it to be duplicated more easily. A copy of the tender documents must also be submitted in electronic format (PDF or compatible), on a CD or a USB stick. Tenderers shall observe precisely the indications in points 3 and 4 of the invitation to tender, in order to ensure that their tenders are admissible. Evidence of timely submission by post or courier service will be constituted by the date of dispatch, the postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand delivery, the signed and dated receipt will serve as evidence. Late submission will lead to the non-admissibility of the tender and its outright rejection. Tenders sent by or by fax will also be non-admissible STRUCTURE OF TENDERS Tenders must contain the following sections: Section 1: Administrative proposal and presentation of the tenderer; Section 2: Technical proposal, addressing technical specifications and selection and award criteria; Section 3: Financial offer Section 1 Administrative proposal This section must provide the following information, set out in the standard forms attached to these tender specifications: Tenderer s identification The tender must include a letter of submission of tender (see Annex 2) presenting the name of the tenderer (including all entities in case of joint offer) and identified subcontractors if applicable, and the name of the single contact person in relation to this tender. All tenderers must provide proof of registration, as prescribed in their country of establishment, in one of the professional or trade registers, or provide a declaration or certificate. If the tenderer is a natural person, he or she must provide a copy of the identity card or passport and proof that he or she is covered by the social security scheme as self-employed person. Page 19 of 26

20 In case of a joint tender, the letter of submission of tender must be signed by a duly authorised representative for each tenderer, or by a single tenderer duly authorised by other tenderers with power of attorney (model provided under Annex 6). If applicable, the letter of submission of tender must indicate the proportion of the contract to be subcontracted. Subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 20% must provide a letter of intent (model provided under Annex 7) stating their willingness to provide the service foreseen in the offer and in line with the present tender specifications. In case of a joint tender, the letter of submission of tender must be signed by a duly authorised representative for each tenderer, or by a single tenderer duly authorised by other tenderers with power of attorney (model provided under Annex 6). Legal entities In order to prove their legal capacity and their status, each tenderer (including subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 20%, or any members of the consortium or grouping) must provide a signed Legal Entity Form with its supporting evidence. The form is available on the URL address specified in the letter of submission form (Annex 2). This form will be accompanied by a number of supporting documents available on the web site: In case of joint tender, the supporting evidence requested will only be submitted by the consortium member designated as lead contractor. Tenderers and subcontractors that are already registered in the contracting authority s accounting system (i.e. they have already been direct contractors) must provide the form but are not obliged to provide the supporting evidence. Financial identification The tenderer (or the appointed representative in case of joint tender) must provide a Financial Identification Form and supporting documents. Only one form per offer should be submitted (no form is needed for subcontractors and other joint tenderers). The form is available on the URL address specified in the letter of submission form (Annex 2) Tenderers must provide the following information if it has not been included with the Legal Entity Form: 1. For legal persons, a legible copy of the notice of appointment of the persons authorised to represent the tenderer in dealings with third parties and in legal proceedings, or a copy of the publication of such appointment if the legislation which applies to the legal entity concerned requires such publication. Any delegation of this authorisation to another representative not indicated in the official appointment must be evidenced. 2. For natural persons, where applicable, a proof of registration on a professional or trade register or any other official document showing the registration number Section 2 Technical proposal The technical proposal must cover all aspects and tasks required in the technical specifications and provide all the information needed to apply the award criteria. Offers deviating from the Page 20 of 26