PECS IMPLEMENTATION Bernard Zufferey Head of the PECS Office Phone:+31 71 565 3498 E-mail: bernard.zufferey@esa.int
Topics which will be addressed: 1) Tentative schedule for a participation of Slovakia in PECS 2) Payment of PECS contributions 3) Overheads 4) Identification of possible PECS projects 5) PECS Call for Proposals 6) Tender evaluation procedure 7) VAT exemption 8) Registration process on EMITS 9) Invoice procedure using ESA-P 10) PECS yearly review 11) Some practical questions 12) Q&A on PECS implementation in general
1) Tentative schedule for a participation of Slovakia in PECS M 0 Signature of ECS Agreement M + 1 month PECS Call for ideas (published on EMITS) M + 4 months Submission of PECS projects to relevant ESA Committees and Programme Boards for approval M + 8 months Approval of PECS projects by IPC M + 10 months Approval of PECS projects by PECS Committee M + 11 months Written notification by Slovakia that ECS Agreement has been approved in accordance with the Slovak legal order (Art. 14.1 ECS Agreement) M + 12 months Signature of PECS Charter M + 13 months Payment of 1st year PECS contribution M + 14 months Placing of PECS contracts
2) Payment of PECS contributions First year of PECS participation: Totality of the yearly contribution due one month after PECS Charter signature Subsequent years: Call-up of contributions in 3 instalments (40 % in November, 40 % in May and 20 % in September) NB: Minimum yearly PECS contribution is 1 M e.c. 2001 (for 2012 = 1.261.517 )
3) Overheads First year of PECS participation: 7%, as fixed in the ECS Agreement Subsequent years: Progressive increase from 7 % up to approximately 12 % (Cf. Art. II.4.1, App. 1, of the ECS Agreement)
4) Identification of possible PECS projects A PECS Call for Proposals, restricted to Slovakia and aiming at identifying potential PECS projects will be published on EMITS immediately after signature of the ECS Agreement. This national Call for Proposals will be open for 6 weeks and will specify the forms to be used, in particular the necessity to use only English language and currency.
5) PECS Call for Proposals The PECS Call for Proposals consists of three documents: - Cover letter - Appendix 1: Draft PECS Contract - Appendix 2: Special Conditions of Tender The Cover letter contains a number of essential features, such as programmatic and cost constraints, how to obtain clarifications, deadline for submission, etc. The PECS contract is based on the General Clauses and Conditions for ESA contracts and is specifically tailored to the needs of the activities covered by the Call for Proposals. The Special conditions of tender contain the forms needed to submit a proposal.
6) Tender evaluation procedure Accepted PECS proposals are assessed by ESA experts according to the following evaluation criteria: 1. Clarity of the technical objectives. Quality of engineering approach and discussion of problem areas. Background and experience of the Company or Institute. Quality and suitability of proposed programme of work. 2. Maturity status of the development. Prospects for use in ESA programmes. Consistency with programmatic objectives. 3. Credibility of the cost estimation and the proposed schedule. Adequacy of the management approach and of the key personnel for the execution of the work. 4. Compliance with the administrative tender conditions of the call for proposals and acceptance of the draft contract.
7) VAT exemption Clause 9.3 of the ECS Agreement between ESA and the Slovak Government. A European Community VAT and Excise Duty Exemption Certificate will be added to all PECS contracts. Please note: ESA as intergovernmental international organisation has no VAT number. Suggestion: it could be worthwhile that Ministry in charge of space research draws the attention of the other ministries, in particular Ministry of Finance, on this VAT exemption.
8) Registration process on EMITS Principle: every entity (Institute or Company) doing business with ESA needs to be registered in EMITS. Without EMITS registration, there is NO PECS contract possible! PECS Call for Proposals are meant to be published in EMITS ONLY, meaning that without registration there is no access to: 1. Call for Proposals package 2. Reference documentation linked to the Call for Proposals 3. Clarifications in the frame of the Call for Proposals.
8) Registration process on EMITS (cont.) To register in EMITS, go to http://emits.esa.int Register as New Tenderer and get a PIN that is your password to edit and complete the questionnaire supplied. When all the questionnaires are completed and the information accepted (all semaphores are green, may be orange, but not red), you will get an ESA Bidder Code and a restricted access to EMITS with a username and a password. More detailed information in: http://www.esa.int/specials/industry_how_to_do_business/semllbc1s6f_0.h tml
9) Invoice procedure using ESA-P Principle: paper invoices are not accepted any more. Please register on https://esa-p.sso.esa.int/irj/portal PECS contracts are firm fixed price contracts and payments are made on the basis of achieved milestones specified in the contract. Only one advance payment at the beginning of the project amounting to approximately 20 %. Please note that ESA has 30 days for payment, as from registration date of the invoice. ESA-P shows you the status of your invoice In case of problems, only contact the ESA-P Helpdesk: fasp.helpdesk@esa.int (phone: +34 918131500)
10) PECS yearly review ECS Agreement requirement in order to measure the level of convergence of PECS projects with ESA programmatic (Art. 8.2 ECS Agreement). A maximum 10 pages yearly report is requested where following points are addressed: technical progress description, difficulties encountered and corrective measures taken, administrative and financial report (expenditure profile compared to Financial plan), list of publications and attendance of symposia or workshops. Face to face meeting with PI, ESA representative(s) and Slovak PECS responsible entity.
11) Some practical points Slovak single point interface with ESA PECS Office is a must. Need for somebody following both, technical and financial aspects of PECS contracts, and having a vision for PECS projects as an integrated part of national space policy. Next step: PECS Office is ready to make a detailed PECS implementation presentation in presence of all potential Slovak PECS users, possibly before the Call for Proposals.
12) Q&A on PECS implementation in general - All practical questions on PECS implementation in general are welcome!