B-Brussels: study on workers' mobility

Request For Proposals

Country:

Belgium

City/Locality:

BRYJELLES

Notice/Contract Number:

eu:185941-2007

Publication Date:

Aug 7, 2007

Deadline:

Oct 8, 2007

Buyer:

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Original Language:

English

Address:

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
BRUSSELS
Belgium

Email:

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Notice Type: C398 - Contract notice
Regulation of Procurement: European Institution/Agency or International Organisation
EU Official Journal Publication: 150/2007, #185941-2007
Contract Nature: Service contract
Procedure Type: Open procedure
Type of Bid Required: Partial 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 D3, Employment
Services, Mobility, attn: Mr Guido Nösinger, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200,
B-1049 Bruxelles/Brussel. Contact: Head of Unit Mr Johan ten Geuzendam.
Tel. (32-2) 295 18 82. Fax (32-2) 299 08 05. E-mail:
empl-d3-unit@ec.europa.eu.
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority:
http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm.
Address of the buyer profile: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/
index_en.html.
Further information can be obtained from:
the above-mentioned contact points.
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for
competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained
from:
the above-mentioned contact points.
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to:
the above-mentioned contact points.
I.2) Type of the contracting authority and main activity or activities:
European institution/agency or international organisation.
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:
Study on workers' mobility.
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of
performance: Services.
Service category No 11.
Main place of performance:
The contractor's premises.
II.1.3) The notice involves: A public contract.
II.1.5) Short description of the contract or purchase(s): Description of
the tasks:
Lot 1: cross-border commuting.
The task of the contractor will be to provide an overview of current
trends and practices as regards cross-border mobility within the EU.
Based on an analysis of existing trends and practices, the contractor will
be invited to analyse new trends and orientations, both
— on a quantitative basis (numbers of commuting workers, shifts in
mobility flows),
— on a qualitative basis (importance/changes in sectors involved; analysis
of motivations, expectations etc).
In conducting his/her study, the contractor will pay specific attention to
the emergence of new cross-border practices among Member States of the EU,
with particular reference to the countries that have joined the EU in 2004
and 2007.
The study will comprise an analytical evaluation of the importance of
cross-border practices in the development of employment opportunities in
Europe and the progressive emergence of a mobility culture within the
European labour market. Specific attention will be paid in this context to
foreseeable future trends and challenges.
Description of the tasks:
Lot 2: short-term international assignments.
The contactor will first of all be expected to establish a typology of
short-term contracts, based on its potential link with geographic and
job-to-job mobility. The typology will include issues such as types of
short-term contracts, coverage by main activity areas, motivations to
engage in this type of contract, average duration of the contracts, and
comparison between Member States.
The second part of the project will provide statistical evidence about the
numbers of EU workers engaged in these types of contracts, with particular
reference, where relevant, to the importance of workers from other Member
States.
In order to enable the European Commission and other interested
organisations (public employment services etc) to dispose of up-to-date
and comprehensive statistics on geographic and/or job-to-job mobility, the
study will be completed, where relevant, with suggestions and/or a
methodology, in order to better record the number of mobile workers
engaged in short-term contracts, and incorporate them in available
mobility statistics.
Description of the tasks:
Lot 3: return after geographic mobility.
The contractor will be expected to provide an inventory of existing or
envisaged practices in EU Member States concerning schemes or initiatives
at national or regional level to facilitate the return and professional
reintegration of workers (and possibly their family) in their home country
after a period of mobility. Due attention will be devoted in this respect
to the variety of situations faced by individuals and the different
reasons to undertake possible action in this area. The study will
therefore provide in depth analysis of existing and forthcoming schemes,
with reference to any results achieved so far.
Based on the findings, the study will also look into the feasibility of
expanding 1 or several schemes among other European countries, as a means
to encourage workers' mobility and to remove remaining obstacles to
mobility. The contractor will likewise look into the possibility to
develop a similar scheme at European level, including possible financial
and implementation mechanisms.
II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 73200000, 75100000.
II.1.7) Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
No.
II.1.8) Division into lots: Yes.
Tenders should be submitted for: 1 or more lots.
II.1.9) Variants will be accepted: No.
II.2) Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1) Total quantity or scope: 3 lots, each of maximum EUR 70 000.
Estimated value, excluding VAT: EUR 210 000.
II.2.2) Options: No.
II.3) Duration of the contract or time-limit for completion: Duration in
months: 10 (from the award of the contract).
Information about lots
Lot No 1
Title: cross-border commuting.
(1) Short description: Mobility patterns are traditionally selective.
They may differ considerably as regards motivations, age, levels of skills
and experiences. Historical ties seem also to play a lasting role in the
shaping and importance of cross-border movements. With regard to
cross-border mobility, an important role is played by the regional
distribution of economic wealth and the chances of finding gainful
employment. Commuting in this respect is closely related to the hierarchy
of central places and is primarily a function of accessible job markets.
Although recent developments perceived during the 2006 European Year of
Worker's Mobility have permitted to better grasp the specificity of
cross-border mobility, within the larger context of workers' mobility,
there are still a number of determinants that need to be analysed. These
concern both quantitative and qualitative parameters: the evolutions in
mobility trends at cross-border level between EU Member States, with
special reference to the successive 2004 and 2007 enlargements
(quantitative dimension); an evolution of mobility determinants at
cross-border level, as regards both the sectors involved and the
motivations of cross-border workers to live and work in different
countries. The study will only take into consideration cross-border
mobility patterns taking place between two Member States and should not
cover mobility trends between regions within a given country. Tenderers
will be encouraged to liaise with the existing and planned cross border
partnerships in the implementation of this specific lot. (more info:
http://eures.europa.eu ).
(2) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 73000000, 75000000.
(3) Quantity or scope: Estimated cost, excluding VAT: EUR 70 000.
(4) Indication about different date for duration of contract or
starting/completion: Duration: 10 months from the award of the contract.
(5) Additional information about lots: Tenders may be submitted for
either 1, 2 or all of the lots. Tenderers are required to submit their
breakdown of prices separately for each lot. Each lot will be evaluated
separately.
Lot No 2
Title: Short term international assignments
(1) Short description: Research gathered in the context of the 2006
European Year converged towards a largely shared estimation of the current
trend of mobile workers (i.e. the percentage of EU citizens of working age
who are currently living and working in another Member State) at
approximately 2 % of the global EU workforce. This figure does not take
into consideration the number of cross-border commuters (see lot 1 above),
nor that of workers involved in short-term/seasonal contracts. Information
concerning the latter seems particularly scarce, as available data is
often based on yearly statistics produced by national statistic offices,
which most often do not cover short term stays.
Yet, evidence shows that in a number of countries, short-term/seasonal
contracts represent in practice a significant percentage of work
contracts. This concerns in particular a number of sectors (tourism,
agro-business, construction industry etc) which employ a considerable
number of people. A similar trend relates to internships, which concerns
more and more young people arriving on the job market, and who are usually
more willing to accept an international assignment, particularly in their
transition between education and professional life.
As for lot 1, the European Commission conducted a short survey among a
number of EURES advisors in order to identify existing practices as
regards internships and short term contracts. The tenderer for this lot
will likewise be invited to liaise with a number of EURES advisors who
have responded to the survey in order to define a common methodology
regarding the definition of a short term contract, including a minimum and
maximum length. (more info: http://eures.europa.eu ).
(2) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 73000000, 75000000.
(3) Quantity or scope: Estimated cost, excluding VAT: EUR 70 000.
(4) Indication about different date for duration of contract or
starting/completion: Duration: 10 months from the award of the contract.
(5) Additional information about lots: Tenders may be submitted for
either 1, 2 or all of the lots. Tenderers are required to submit their
breakdown of prices separately for each lot. Each lot will be evaluated
separately.
Lot No 3
Title: Return after a geographic mobility.
(1) Short description: All feedback collected throughout the 2006
European year refers to the lack of return mechanisms as a major
psychological deterrent to workers to undertake a mobility experience in
another Member State. This issue appears repeatedly in 2 Eurobarometer
surveys conducted within the framework of the year. The fact of leaving,
even for a reasonable amount of time (no more than 2 or 3 years), has
usually the negative effect of cutting workers from their families as well
as their traditional ties with the national labour market, with the
consequence that it is extremely difficult for them to re-integrated their
job market if specific mechanisms are not put into place.
The urgency to define measures to facilitate the return and professional
reintegration of mobile workers had a specific but significant side-effect
in the framework of the 2004 enlargement of the EU, more particularly for
those countries (Latvia, Poland, Lithuania) that have been most concerned
by the massive expatriation of mobile workers to the countries that had
not applied transitional measures restricting the free movement of workers
in the first years after enlargement took place (United Kingdom, Ireland,
Sweden). Faced with massive shortages of workers in certain activity
areas, some of these countries have tempted to define mechanisms to
encourage their workers established in another Member State to return to
their home country.
The purpose of this third lot will be to provide the analytical tools to
grasp the overall dimension of the return issue, and to present an
overview of measures taken at national or regional level in order to
encourage mobile workers to return to their home countries.
(2) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 73000000, 75000000.
(3) Quantity or scope: Estimated cost, excluding VAT: EUR 70 000.
(4) Indication about different date for duration of contract or
starting/completion: Duration: 10 months from the award of the contract.
(5) Additional information about lots: Tenders may be submitted for
either 1, 2 or all of the lots. Tenderers are required to submit their
breakdown of prices separately for each lot. Each lot will be evaluated
separately.
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: In drawing up the
bid, the tenderer should take into account the provisions of the standard
contract comprising the 'General terms and conditions applicable to
service contracts'.
Pre-financing
Following signature of the contract by the last contracting party, within
30 days of the receipt by the Commission of a request for pre-financing
with a relevant invoice, a pre-financing payment equal to 30 % of the
total amount referred to in Article I.3.1 of the contract shall be made.
Interim payments
Requests for interim payment by the contractor shall be admissible if
accompanied by
— an interim technical report in accordance with the instructions laid
down in Annex I of the contract,
— the relevant invoices,
provided the report has been approved by the Commission.
The Commission shall have 45 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, an interment payment corresponding to the relevant invoices,
up to a maximum 40 % of the total amount referred to in Article I.3.1 of
the contract, shall be made.
Payment of the balance
The request for payment of the balance of the contractor shall be
admissible if accompanied by:
— the final technical report in accordance with the instructions laid down
in Annex I of the contract,
— the relevant invoices,
provided the report has been approved by the Commission.
The Commission shall have 45 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 of the total amount referred to in
Article I.3.1 of the contract shall be made.
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 12 and 13 of the tender specifications must be supplied by every
member of the grouping.
Each member of the grouping assumes a joint and several liabilities
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:
Bidders must provide a declaration on their honour, duly signed and dated,
that they are not in 1 of the situations 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) following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure
financed by the Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious
breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual
obligations.
Article 94:
Contracts may not be awarded to candidates or tenderers who, during the
procurement procedure:
a) are subject to a conflict of interest;
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 of the tender specifications (which may be used as a
checklist) for the supporting documents accepted by the European
Commission to be provided by applicants, 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 EMPL DG 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 3 documents should be provided:
— a statement of the tenderer's overall turnover at least twice the value
of this contract, i.e. EUR 140 000 per lot, and turnover in respect of
services to which the contract relates for the previous 3 financial years,
— a bank declaration providing evidence of sound financial standing,
— accounts — balance sheets and profit and loss accounts — for the last
two financial years, for which accounts have been closed, certified by an
external audit, if required by national law.
III.2.3) Technical capacity: Information and formalities necessary for
evaluating if requirements are met:
educational and professional qualifications of the service provider will
be substantiated by providing
— detailed CV's of all members of the study team responsible for providing
the service,
— a list of principal services or studies provided in the relevant policy
domain over the past 3 years,
— solid experience of analysis in the field concerned, including the
theoretical and empirical aspects, as attested by the CVs and related
documentation of the experts proposed,
— Good experience in the specific field of the study, as attested by the
CVs and related documentation of the experts proposed;
— language skills sufficient to execute the tasks efficiently. The
contractor or consortium should demonstrate solid linguistic capability
covering at least the 3 working languages of the Commission (English,
German, French) and should ensure that the project contains provision for
interpretation and translation if this is considered necessary by the
contractor,
— a list of co-ordinators and experts to be used for the study, together
with their CVs and qualifications and professional capacities,
— a declaration by the co-ordinator certifying the competence of the team
to carry out the project study, including professional and linguistic
capabilities,
— in the case of tenders from consortia: clear identification of the
co-ordinator 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 project, and
describing their role.
— Statement of the average annual manpower and the number of managerial
staff in the last 3 years,
— the educational and professional qualifications and language skills of
the tenderer's managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or
persons responsible for providing the services (curriculum vitae),
— a description of the technical equipment and tools to be employed to
perform the contract,
— a description of the measures to ensure the quality of services,
— a description of the study and research facilities,
— a list of the principal services provided in the past 3 years with the
sums, dates and recipients, public or private.
In addition, tendering specifications state specific requirements set for
the different lots.
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: Open.
IV.2) 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/2007-075.
IV.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract: No.
IV.3.4) Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate:
8.10.2007 (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: 6 months from the date stated for receipt of tenders.
IV.3.8) Conditions for opening tenders: 18.10.2007 (10:00).
Place: Office 05/51 in rue Joseph II, 27
Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: yes.
Duly mandated in writing by letter received 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): Progress overall aim is to
financially support the implementation of the objectives of the European
Union in the employment and social affairs area, as set out in the Social
Agenda, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy
goals in these fields.
It aims at supporting the core functions of the European Community towards
fulfilling its Treaty-delegated tasks and powers in its respective areas
of competence in the employment and social sphere. It will support
initiatives aimed at reinforcing the role of the Community in proposing EU
strategies; implementing and following-up EU objectives and their
translations into national policies; transposing and following-up of EU
legislation's application in a coherent way through Europe; promoting the
co-operation and co-ordination mechanisms between Member States and
cooperating with social partners and organisations that represent civil
society.
The present Call for tenders is issued in the context of the
implementation of the 2007 annual plan of work which is consultable at
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/progress/docs_en.html.
VI.3) Additional information: The tender specifications related to this
call for tender can be downloaded from the web site
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/emplweb/tenders/
index_calls_en.cfmite of the Directorate-Gereral's web address.
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.eu.int.
Body responsible for mediation procedures:
The European Ombudsman, 1, avenue du Président Robert Schuman, 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 to 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: 26.7.2007.

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B-Brussels: study on workers' mobility

Request For Proposals

General Information

Contact Information

Goods, Works and Services

Original Text