B-Brussels: framework contract for the provision of training for the EURES network

Country:

Belgium

City/Locality:

BRYJELLES

Notice/Contract Number:

eu:133739-2008

Publication Date:

May 24, 2008

Deadline:

Jul 22, 2008

Buyer:

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Original Language:

English

Address:

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
BRUSSELS , Arr. de Bruxelles-Capitale / Arr. van Brussel-Hoofdstad
Belgium

Email:

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Notice Type: C398
-
Contract notice
Regulation of Procurement: European Institution/Agency or International Organisation
EU Official Journal Publication: 100/2008
, #
133739-2008
Contract Nature: Service contract
Procedure Type: Open procedure
Type of Bid Required: Global tender
Awarding Criteria: The most economic tender

Summary:
Contract notice
Services
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name, addresses and contact point(s): European Commission,
Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities DG, Unit EMPL/D/3,
attn: Wallis Goelen, Head of Unit EMPL/D/3, Rue Joseph II 27, 5/51, B-1049
Bruxelles/Brussel. Tel. (32-2) 295 18 27. Fax (32-2) 299 05 08. E-mail:
empl-d3-unit@ec.europa.eu.
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority:
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/index_en.html.
Further information can be obtained from:
the above-mentioned contact point(s).
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for
competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained
from:
the above-mentioned contact point(s).
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to:
the above-mentioned contact point(s).
I.2) Type of the contracting authority and main activity or activities:
European institution/agency or international organisation.
Employment and social affairs.
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:
Framework contract for the provision of training for the EURES Network.
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of
performance: Services.
Service category No 27.
Main place of performance:
European Economic Area (EEA).
NUTS code: BE100.
II.1.3) The notice involves: The establishment of a framework agreement.
II.1.4) Information on framework agreement: Framework agreement with a
single operator.
Duration of the framework agreement: Duration in years: 2.
Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the
framework agreement:
Estimated value excluding VAT: EUR 7 000 000.
II.1.5) Short description of the contract or purchase(s): The objective
of this framework contract is to develop a training programme for the
EURES network by addressing the training needs of the EURES advisers. The
extended network of EURES advisers provide 3 basic EURES services,
information, guidance and placement to job-seekers and employers. There
are currently more than 740 EURES advisers located throughout the EU, EEA
and Switzerland. EURES advisers also stay in frequent contact with other
clients such as: graduates, training institutions, trade unions etc. These
advisers contribute to the integration of EURES services within their
organisations (mainly the Member States' public employment services) and
provide training and support to other staff. Their work may comprise 2
role types:
— front office tasks — handling of inquiries, direct advice to
jobseekers/employers, other individuals and institutions interested in
mobility,
— back office tasks — involving monitoring, reporting, statistics
collection and analysis, logistics tasks, event organisation etc. EURES
advisers are:
(a) experts on mobility issues, which includes (non-exclusive):
— following up of job vacancies for which they are responsible,
— providing solutions to bottlenecks through large scale recruitment and
other means,
— developing and updating mobility-related information tools,
— giving information on skill surpluses and shortages (national/local
level),
— giving information on living and working conditions,
— giving information on obstacles to mobility and suggesting appropriate
solutions to such obstacles:
(b) agents of integration within the PES, which includes:
— promoting EURES guidelines at local level,
— promoting EURES within the PES-organisation,
— contributing to the definition and carrying out of the development and
activity plan,
— providing assistance to colleagues through information/training
activities,
— disseminating information on good practice,
— being the main information source on EURES questions for his/her Line
Manager,
— facilitating links between the EURES manager and the local hierarchy,
— promoting EURES to other staff,
— promoting EURES to employers, job seekers and other target groups in
conjunction with other relevant activities of the PES:
(c) contributors to the transnational network, which requires:
— providing information on the regional labour market,
— acting as a gateway and resource person to other EEA colleagues in the
network,
— initiating and managing projects with a transnational dimension,
— establishing a balance between advising both outgoing and incoming job
seekers. For more detailed information on EURES activities and services
please consult the EURES portal: http://eures.europa.eu.
II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 80420000, 80422200,
80423200, 80423120, 74542000, 80427000, 74140000, 74141400.
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: To provide the Commission with a
framework contract, which will allow for designing, developing, running,
planning, organising and evaluating EURES training.
3.1. Target Groups
Prospective and experienced EURES Advisers, EURES Advisers and their Line
Managers, other PES staff involved in various types of mobility activities
are the main target groups of EURES training. The multicultural and
international character of EURES staff needs to be emphasised.
3.2. Place of Implementation:
Group training may be organised in various — not less than 5 — locations
in the EU. The contactor may also organise the training at its own
premises. The training centres and accommodation should be of a high
standard being amenable and socially conducive to a good learning
environment during the day and social networking in the evening. Easy
access to training locations is a fundamental condition (international
airport allowing easy travel from all EU countries, central location
accessible to all by public transport). The contractor must guarantee full
accessibility of training premises to disabled persons. There needs to be
public transport from the airport to all proposed locations. The
accommodation and training centre where sessions are held needs to be (1)
within the same complex or (2) within walking distance (no more than
5-minute walk). The price schedule (see annex II) needs to indicate the
locations proposed by the contractor.
3.3. Working Languages:
The training languages will be English, French and German, either together
or separately. It is important to note that they will often not be in the
participants' mother tongue. This factor can be quite important when
preparing, designing and running the proposed training courses. When
training must be given to different groups, identical training content and
teaching methods are to be used, irrespective of the language. On some
occasions advanced training might be organised in an EU language other
than in English/French or English/German. The expenses related to
interpretation and translation of documents must be incorporated in price
schedule.
3.4. Types of training:
2 broad categories are to be developed:
A. Initial training.
B. Advanced/Specialised training:
With regards to teaching solution bidders are expected to present offers
using each of the following teaching methods:
— traditional types of training (standard and ad hoc) — in the form of
classroom sessions, seminars, workshops, special working group sessions;
conferences and other suitable solutions as proposed by the contractor
(training groups may vary). See models 1 and 2 in annex I Tender form
technical part,
— virtual training — (standard and ad hoc) which are also referred to as
e-training in the form of instructor-led accessible training via the
Internet on a number of focused subjects (e.g. social security, project
management or other specific topics). Please note that prices for virtual
trainings must include all costs related to the use of all relevant
technical facilities such as infrastructure, equipment, software and
services. Virtual training will constitute about 15 %–20 % of all
trainings. See models 3 and 4 in annex I Tender form technical part.
No further guidelines can be given here as this will be the first time
that virtual training will be delivered.
— atypical and innovative training — e.g. special study tours, training
visits or coaching on the spot (contractor is encouraged to propose new
formulas, original and efficient solutions will be promoted). See model 5
in annex I Tender form technical part. List of standard trainings, Initial
Training, Social Security Advanced, Services for Employers Advanced,
Services for Graduate Sector Advanced, Cross-Border Advanced,
Communication Strategy and Communication Skills for EURES Advisers, EURES
and Line Managers Advanced, EURES portal/Internet resources. The training
methods should ensure the broadest possible participation and guarantee
the active involvement of target groups. Whenever possible the contractor
should plan practical exercises and activities directly related to
participants' work, to ensure that they can actually apply what they have
learnt in their working environment.
II.2.2) Options: Yes.
Description of these options: The framework contract will be entered into
for a period of 2 years, for a maximum value of EUR 3 500 000, and may be
renewed once for the same duration and value.
Provisional timetable for recourse to these options: 24 months (from the
award of the contract).
Number of possible renewals: 1.
II.3) Duration of the contract or time-limit for completion: 24 months
from the award of the contract.
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.2) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or
reference to the relevant provisions regulating them: Payments shall be
executed only if the contractor has fulfilled all his contractual
obligations by the date on which the invoice is submitted. Payment
requests may not be made if payments for previous periods have not been
executed as a result of default or negligence on the part of the
contractor.
Pre-financing: within 30 days of the start date of the tasks and the
reception of the relevant invoice, indicating the reference number of the
contract and of the order form to which it refers, pre-financing payment
of 30 % of the total value of the order shall be made.
Interim payment: not applicable.
Payment of the balance: the request for payment of the balance by the
contractor shall be admissible if accompanied by:
— the final technical report in accordance with the instructions laid down
in Annex I of the draft contract,
— the relevant invoices indicating the reference number of the contract
and of the order to which they refer, provided the report has been
approved by the Commission. The Commission shall have 60 days from receipt
to approve or reject the report, and the contractor shall have 30 days in
which to submit additional information or a new report. Within 30 days of
the date on which the report is approved by the Commission, payment of the
balance corresponding to the relevant invoice shall be made. Only for
contractors to who VAT applies and with fiscal imposition in Belgium: For
contractors established in Belgium, the orders shall include the following
provision: 'En Belgique, l'utilisation de ce bon de commande vaut
présentation d'une demande d'exemption de la TVA n° 450' or an equivalent
statement in the Dutch or German language. The contractor shall include
the following statement in his invoice(s): 'Exonération de la TVA, Article
42, § 3.3 du code de la TVA' or an equivalent statement in the Dutch or
German language.
III.1.3) Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to
whom the contract is to be awarded: Tenders can be submitted by groupings
of service providers/suppliers who will not be required to adopt a
particular legal form prior to the contract being awarded, but the
consortium selected may be required to assume a given legal form when it
has been awarded the contract if this change is necessary for proper
performance of the contract . However, a grouping of economic operators
must nominate 1 party to be responsible for the receipt and processing of
payments for members of the grouping, for managing the service
administration, and for coordination. The documents required and listed in
points 11 (1) (i.e. declaration on their honour) and 12 of the tender
specifications must be supplied by every member of the grouping. Each
member of the grouping assumes a joint and several liability towards the
Commission.
III.1.4) Other particular conditions to which the performance of the
contract is subject: No.
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:
1) Bidders must provide a declaration on their honour, duly signed and
dated, that they are not in 1 of the situation referred to in Articles 93
and 94 (a) of the Financial Regulation. Those articles are as follows :
'Article 93: Applicants or tenderers shall be excluded if:
(a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs
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) they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional
conduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata;
(c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any
means which the contracting authority can justify;
(d) they have not fulfilled their 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) they have been the subject of a judgement 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) they are currently subject to an administrative penalty referred to in
Article 96(1). (…) Article 94: Contracts may not be awarded to candidates
or tenderers who, during the procurement procedure:
(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
procurement procedure or fail to supply this information; (…)'.
2) The tenderer to whom the contract is to be awarded shall provide,
within a time-limit defined by the contracting authority and preceding the
signature of the contract, the evidence referred to in Article 134 of the
implementing Rules, confirming the declaration referred to in point 1
above. Article 134 of the Implementation Arrangements — Supporting
documents.
1. The contracting authority shall accept, as satisfactory evidence that
the candidate or tenderer is not in 1 of the situations described in
points (a), (b) or (e) of Article 93 of the Financial Regulations,
production of a recent extract from the judicial record or, failing that,
a recent equivalent document issued by a judicial or administrative
authority in the country of origin or provenance showing that these
requirements are met.
2. The contracting authority shall accept, as satisfactory evidence that
the candidate or tenderer is not in the situation described in point (d)
of Article 93 of the Financial Regulations, a recent certificate issued by
the competent authority of the State concerned. Where no such document or
certificate is issued in the country concerned, it may be replaced by a
sworn or, failing that, a solemn statement made by the interested party
before a judicial or administrative authority, a notary or a qualified
professional body in his country of origin or provenance.
3. Depending on the national legislation of the country in which the
tenderer or applicant is established, the documents referred to in
paragraphs 1 and 2 above shall relate to legal entities and/or physical
persons, including, where considered necessary by the awarding authority,
company directors or any person with powers of representation,
decision-making or control in relation to the tenderer. See Annex I (which
may be used as a checklist) for the supporting documents accepted by the
European Commission to be provided by applicants, tenderers or tenderers
to whom the contract will be awarded.
3) The contracting authority may waive the obligation of a candidate or
tenderer to submit the documentary evidence referred to in Article 134 of
the Implementing Rules, if such evidence has already been submitted to it
for the purposes of another procurement procedure launched by DG EMPL and
provided that the issuing date of the documents does not exceed 1 year and
that they are still valid. In such a case, the candidate or tenderer shall
declare on his honour that the documentary evidence has already been
provided in a previous procurement procedure and confirm that no changes
in his situation have occurred.
III.2.2) Economic and financial capacity: Information and formalities
necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
tenderers must provide sufficient information to satisfy the Commission of
their financial standing and more particularly that they have the
necessary resources and financial means to carry out the work that is the
subject of the tender and that the tenderer is viable for the duration of
the contract. The following documents should be provided:
— a bank declaration providing evidence of sound financial standing,
— a statement that the tenderer's overall turnover is at least twice the
value of the total amount quoted in table 3 Annex II of the tender
specifications,
— a statement that the tenderer's turnover in respect of the relevant
policy domain covered by the contract is at least 100 % of total amount
quoted in table 3 Annex II of the tender specifications,
— accounts — balance sheets and profit and loss accounts — for the last 2
financial years, for which accounts have been closed, certified by an
external audit, if required by national law. If, for some exceptional
reason which the contracting authority considers justified, the tenderer
or candidate is unable to provide the references requested by the
contracting authority, he may prove his economic and financial capacity by
any other means which the contracting authority considers appropriate.
III.2.3) Technical capacity: Information and formalities necessary for
evaluating if requirements are met:
tenderers have to prove their ability, skills, experience and competence
for performing the work by means of:
— a general description of tenderer's main activities, experience and main
methodological tools used in relation to the work under the contract,
— a list of the principal services provided in the past 3 years in
relation to the described services for which they bid, specifying the
dates, recipients and the nature of services provided. Where the work was
undertaken for the European Commission, the candidate must also indicate
the reference number of the Commission contract and the department for
which the contract was performed. In the case of tenders from consortia,
these lists must be provided by each member of the consortium,
— details of the structure of the project team, specifying the
co-ordinator and the number of persons dealing with administrative
management, organisation and assignment of tasks,
— curricula vitae of all the project team members responsible for
providing the service,
— a declaration by the coordinator certifying the competence of the team
to carry out the project including linguistic capabilities,
— a list of spoken/written knowledge of other languages than English,
French and German,
— a statement on the average turnover of staff involved in similar
activities during the last 3 years,
— in the case of tenders from consortia: clear identification of the
coordinator of the work, who will also be responsible for signing the
contract, and written confirmation from each member of the consortium that
they would be ready and willing to participate in the work, and briefly
describing their role (see point 10 of the tender specifications),
— proof of entry in the professional or trade register, or a declaration
or certificate in accordance with the provisions of the Member State in
which the tenderer is established. If the contractor plans to subcontract
part of the work, he must specify the part concerned and the name of the
subcontractor and supply details of the financial, economic and technical
capacity of the subcontractor. Tenderers which have not provided the
required information or for which the Commission determines that they do
not have the necessary minimum capacity will be eliminated without further
assessment.
III.2.4) Reserved contracts: No.
III.3) Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1) Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession:
No.
III.3.2) Legal entities should indicate the names and professional
qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service:
Yes.
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Type of procedure
IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Open.
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:
VT/2008/032.
IV.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract: No.
IV.3.3) Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents
or descriptive document: Time-limit for receipt of requests for documents
or for accessing documents: 7.7.2008 (16:00).
Payable documents: no.
IV.3.4) Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate:
22.7.2008 (16:00).
IV.3.6) Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be
drawn up: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish,
French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian,
Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and
Swedish.
IV.3.7) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the
tender: Duration in month(s): 6 (from the date stated for receipt of
tender).
IV.3.8) Conditions for opening tenders: 1.8.2008 (10:00).
Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: yes.
Duly mandated in writing by letter 1 week before the opening.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) This is a recurrent procurement: No.
VI.2) Contract related to a project and/or programme financed by EU
funds: Yes.
Reference to project(s) and/or programme(s): Legal basis: Commission
Decision (2003/8/EC) of 23.12.2002 implementing Council Regulation (EEC)
No 1612/68 as regards the clearance of vacancies and applications for
employment. See also http://eures.europa.eu.
VI.3) Additional information: The tender specification and documents
related to this call for tender can be downloaded from the web site of the
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/emplweb/
tenders/index_en.cfm.
VI.4) Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1) Body responsible for appeal procedures: Court of First Instance
of the European Communities, boulevard Konrad Adenauer, L-2925 Luxembourg.
Tel. (352) 43 03-1. Fax (352) 43 37 66. E-mail: ECJ.Registry@curia.eu.int.
URL: http://curia.europa.eu/en/instit/txtdocfr/index.htm.
Body responsible for mediation procedures:
The European Ombudsman, 1, avenue du Président Robert Schuman, BP 403,
F-67001 Strasbourg Cedex. Tel. (33) 388 17 23 13. Fax (33) 388 17 90 62.
E-mail: euro-ombudsman@europarl.eu.int. URL:
http://www.euro-ombudsman.eu.int.
VI.4.2) Lodging of appeals: Precise information on deadline(s) for
lodging appeals:
within 2 months of the notification of the plaintiff or, in absence
thereof, of the day on which it came to knowledge. A complaint to the
European Ombudsman does not have as an effect either to suspend this
period or to open a new period for lodging appeals.
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 13.5.2008.

B-Brussels: framework contract for the provision of training for the EURES network

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