Tender: UK-London: research and development services and related consultancy services

UK-London: research and development services and related consultancy services

2010/S 53-078987

CONTRACT NOTICE

Services

SECTION I: CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

• I.1)
  NAME, ADDRESSES AND CONTACT POINT(S)

  Attn: Tel. E-mail: Big Lottery Fund
  1 Plough Place
  Sharon Nash
  EC4A 1DELondon
  UNITED KINGDOM
  +44 2078424237
  sharon.nash@biglotteryfund.org.uk

  Internet address(es)

  General address of the contracting authority http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/

  Further information can be obtained at: As in above-mentioned contact point(s)

  Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained at: As in above-mentioned contact point(s)

  Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: As in above-mentioned contact point(s)

• I.2)
  TYPE OF THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY AND MAIN ACTIVITY OR ACTIVITIES

  Body governed by public law

  Other Grant Awarding Body

  The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities No

SECTION II: OBJECT OF THE CONTRACT

• II.1)
  DESCRIPTION
• II.1.1)
  Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

  2360 volunteering improvement programme

• II.1.2)
  Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

  Services

  Service category: No 8

  Main place of performance Scotland.

  NUTS code UKM

• II.1.3)
  The notice involves

  A public contract

II.1.4)
Information on framework agreement

• II.1.5)
  Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

  The Big Lottery Fund is a non-departmental public body and the largest UK Lottery distributor. The Big Lottery Funds Volunteering Improvement Programme in Scotland is part of our wider Investing in Communities (IIC) portfolio. BIG intends to appoint an external provider with expertise in the volunteering field to conduct desk-based research and work intensively with IIC-funded projects that have identified volunteering activity/volunteers as an element of their delivery. Preliminary research indicates that there are approximately 150 such grant holders.

  The Volunteering Improvement Programme aims to achieve the following outcomes.

  — BIG grant holders’ volunteering practice benefits from an improved understanding of, and confidence in, different volunteering approaches,

  — Organisations’ planning, design and delivery of services are more responsive to and take account of volunteers’ needs and experience,

  — Individuals’ positive volunteering experiences are developed into skills and attributes as a result of access to flexible and appropriate volunteering opportunities.

  The aim of appointing an external service provider or a consortium led by a single lead party is to improve practice in the support for volunteering and ensure that high quality and independent volunteering support is consistently available to all IIC grant holders that may require it.

  The Big Lottery Fund anticipates that this intervention will contribute to the development of effective and tested approaches and tools and techniques to assist voluntary and community organisations in Scotland to be better equipped to maximise the benefit from volunteers and enhance volunteering. The learning from this approach will be shared with funders and a range of stakeholders.

  An incremental approach will be adopted, with the work being let as one contract with two distinct stages. The main thrust of the service requirement at Stage 1 is to conduct research into and analysis of the varying practice, experience and potential of volunteering across IIC grant-funded projects. The service provider will identify enablers and barriers to successful volunteering practice in a range of sectors and settings, gauge appetite among grant holders for work to support and improve volunteering practice and develop a proposal for the delivery of such work.

  At Stage 2 the service provider will implement the recommendations as set out in the final report of Stage 1. Stage 2 will incorporate a package of more intensive, tailored support for grant holders.

  The 2nd stage is subject to the Funds satisfaction with the outcome of Stage 1 to be determined by the Fund in its sole discretion after the completion of Stage 1. Should the Fund decide to end the contract after Stage 1, the fund will not be liable for any further costs or charges.

  The budget for this contract will be between 400 000 GBP and 500 000 GBP (including VAT).

  The contract term will be 3 years with the option to extend for a further 12 months.

  Should you wish to express an interest in this procurement, please read and follow the instructions in III.2) conditions for participation of this OJEU notice. The closing date for completion of PQQs is on Tuesday 20.4.2010 (12:00).

• II.1.6)
  Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

  73000000, 98000000

• II.1.7)
  Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

  Yes

• II.1.8)
  Division into lots

  No

• II.1.9)
  Variants will be accepted

  No

• II.2)
  QUANTITY OR SCOPE OF THE CONTRACT
• II.2.1)
  Total quantity or scope

  Excluding VAT

  Range between 340 000 and 425 000 GBP

II.2.2)
Options

• II.3)
  DURATION OF THE CONTRACT OR TIME-LIMIT FOR COMPLETION

  Duration in months: 36 (from the award of the contract)

SECTION III: LEGAL, ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• III.1)
  CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE CONTRACT
• III.1.1)
  Deposits and guarantees required

  Parent Company Guarantees and other security may be required in respect of some or all of the service providers obligations.

• III.1.2)
  Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions regulating them

  As stated in the tender documents.

• III.1.3)
  Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded

  As stated in the tender documents.

• III.1.4)
  Other particular conditions to which the performance of the contract is subject

  Yes

  As stated in the tender documents.

• III.2)
  CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
• III.2.1)
  Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

  Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: Suppliers instructions how to express interest in this tender~:

  1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once)

  — Browse to the eSourcing Portal: https://biglotteryfund.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register,

  — Accept the terms and conditions and click "continue",

  — Enter your correct business and user details,

  — Note the username you chose and click "save" when complete,

  — You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure).

  2. Express an interest in the tender

  — Login to the portal with the username/password,

  — Click the "PQQs / ITTs open to all suppliers" link. (These are pre-qualification questionnaires or invitations to tender open to any registered supplier),

  — Click on the relevant PQQ/ ITT to access the content,

  — Click the "express interest" button in the "actions" box on the left-hand side of the page,

  — This will move the PQQ /ITT into your "My PQQs/ My ITTs" page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only),

  — You can now access any attachments by clicking the "settings and buyer attachments" in the "actions" box.

  3. Responding to the tender

  — You can now choose to "reply" or "reject" (please give a reason if rejecting),

  — You can now use the ‘messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification,

  — Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT,

  — There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available).

  You must then publish your reply using the publish button in the "actions" box on the left-hand side of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.

• III.2.2)
  Economic and financial capacity

  Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: As stated in the tender documents.

  Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required As stated in the tender documents.

• III.2.3)
  Technical capacity

  Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:

  As stated in the tender documents.

  Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required

  As stated in the tender documents.

III.2.4)
Reserved contracts

III.3)
CONDITIONS SPECIFIC TO SERVICES CONTRACTS

III.3.1)
Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession

III.3.2)
Legal entities should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service

SECTION IV: PROCEDURE

• IV.1)
  TYPE OF PROCEDURE
• IV.1.1)
  Type of procedure

  Restricted

• IV.1.2)
  Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

  Envisaged minimum number 5

IV.1.3)
Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

• IV.2)
  AWARD CRITERIA
• IV.2.1)
  Award criteria

  The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

• IV.2.2)
  An electronic auction will be used

  No

• IV.3)
  ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
• IV.3.1)
  File reference number attributed by the contracting authority

  2360

• IV.3.2)
  Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

  No

• IV.3.3)
  Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

  Time limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents 20.4.2010 - 12:00

• IV.3.4)
  Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

  20.4.2010 - 12:00

IV.3.5)
Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

• IV.3.6)
  Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

  English.

IV.3.7)
Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

IV.3.8)
Conditions for opening tenders

SECTION VI: COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

VI.1)
THIS IS A RECURRENT PROCUREMENT

VI.2)
CONTRACT RELATED TO A PROJECT AND/OR PROGRAMME FINANCED BY EU FUNDS

• VI.3)
  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  The Contracting Authority intends to use an eTendering system in this procurement exercise and reserves the right to use a reverse auction.

VI.4)
PROCEDURES FOR APPEAL

VI.4.1)
Body responsible for appeal procedures

VI.4.2)
Lodging of appeals

VI.4.3)
Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

• VI.5)
  DATE OF DISPATCH OF THIS NOTICE:

  12.3.2010