TENDER SPECIFICATIONS - European Commission · 2016-08-08 · The tender must comply with applicable environmental, social and labour law obligations established by Union law, national

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL REGIONAL AND URBAN POLICY Inclusive Growth, Urban and Territorial Development and Northern Europe Competence Centre Inclusive Growth, Urban and Territorial Development

1

CALL FOR TENDERS

2016CE160AT041

STUDY ON

Analysis of ERDF support for inclusive growth in the

2014-2020 programming period

TENDER SPECIFICATIONS

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... 2

1. INFORMATION ON TENDERING .......................................................................... 3

1.1. Participation ......................................................................................................... 3

1.2. Contractual conditions.......................................................................................... 3

1.3. Compliance with applicable law .......................................................................... 3

1.4. Joint tenders.......................................................................................................... 3

1.5. Subcontracting ...................................................................................................... 4

1.6. Structure and content of the tender ...................................................................... 4

1.7. Identification of the tenderer ................................................................................ 5

2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................. 5

3. CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND GRAPHIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE

DELIVERABLES ..................................................................................................... 15

3.1. Content ............................................................................................................... 15

3.2. Graphic requirements ......................................................................................... 16

4. EVALUATION AND AWARD ............................................................................... 17

4.1. Verification of non-exclusion............................................................................. 17

4.2. Selection criteria ................................................................................................. 18

4.3. Award criteria ..................................................................................................... 22

4.4. Ranking of tenders ............................................................................................. 23

5. ANNEX ..................................................................................................................... 24

3

1. INFORMATION ON TENDERING

1.1. Participation

Participation in this procurement procedure is open on equal terms to all natural and legal

persons coming within the scope of the Treaties, as well as to international organisations.

It is also open to all natural and legal persons established in a third country which has a

special agreement with the Union in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid

down in that agreement. Where the plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement1

concluded within the World Trade Organisation applies, the participation to this procedure is

also open to all natural and legal persons established in the countries that have ratified this

Agreement, on the conditions it lays down.

1.2. Contractual conditions

The tenderer should bear in mind the provisions of the draft contract which specifies the

rights and obligations of the contractor, particularly those on payments, performance of the

contract, confidentiality, and checks and audits.

1.3. Compliance with applicable law

The tender must comply with applicable environmental, social and labour law obligations

established by Union law, national legislation, collective agreements or the international

environmental, social and labour conventions listed in Annex X to Directive 2014/24/EU2.

1.4. Joint tenders

A joint tender is a situation where a tender is submitted by a group of economic operators

(natural or legal persons). Joint tenders may include subcontractors in addition to the

members of the group.

In case of joint tender, all members of the group assume joint and several liability towards the

Contracting Authority for the performance of the contract as a whole, i.e. both financial and

operational liability. Nevertheless, tenderers must designate one of the economic operators as

a single point of contact (the leader) for the Contracting Authority for administrative and

financial aspects as well as operational management of the contract.

After the award, the Contracting Authority will sign the contract either with all members of

the group, or with the leader on behalf of all members of the group, authorised by the other

members via powers of attorney.

1 See http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_E/gproc_e/gp_gpa_e.htm

2 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public

procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65).

4

1.5. Subcontracting

Subcontracting is permitted but the contractor will retain full liability towards the Contracting

Authority for performance of the contract as a whole.

Tenderers are required to identify all subcontractors whose share of the contract is above

20 % and whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria.

During contract performance, the change of any subcontractor identified in the tender or

additional subcontracting will be subject to prior written approval of the Contracting

Authority.

1.6. Structure and content of the tender

The tenders must be presented as follows:

Part A: Identification of the tenderer (see section 1.7)

Part B: Non-exclusion (see section 4.1)

Part C: Selection (see section 4.2)

Part D: Technical offer

The technical offer 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 requirements or not covering all requirements may be

rejected on the basis of non-compliance with the tender specifications and will not be

evaluated.

Part E: Financial offer

The price for the tender must be quoted in euro. Tenderers from countries outside the

euro zone have to quote their prices in euro. The price quoted may not be revised in

line with exchange rate movements. It is for the tenderer to bear the risks or the

benefits deriving from any variation.

Prices must be quoted free of all duties, taxes and other charges, including VAT, as

the European Union is exempt from such charges under Articles 3 and 4 of the

Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Union. The amount of

VAT may be shown separately.

The quoted price must be a fixed amount which includes all charges (including travel

and subsistence as well as necessary translations). Travel and subsistence expenses

are not refundable separately.

5

1.7. Identification of the tenderer

The tender must include a cover letter signed by an authorised representative presenting the

name of the tenderer (including all entities in case of joint tender) and identified

subcontractors if applicable, and the name of the single contact point (leader) in relation to

this procedure.

In case of joint tender, the cover letter must be signed either by an authorised representative

for each member, or by the leader authorised by the other members with powers of attorney.

The signed powers of attorney must be included in the tender as well. Subcontractors that are

identified in the tender must provide a letter of intent signed by an authorised representative

stating their willingness to provide the services presented in the tender and in line with the

present tender specifications.

All tenderers (including all members of the group in case of joint tender) must provide a

signed Legal Entity Form with its supporting evidence. The form is available on:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm

Tenderers 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.

The tenderer (or the leader in case of joint tender) must provide a Financial Identification

Form with its supporting documents. Only one form per tender should be submitted. No form

is needed for subcontractors and other members of the group in case of joint tender. The form

is available on: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/index_en.cfm

The tenderer (and each member of the group in case of joint tender) must declare whether it is

a Small or Medium Size Enterprise in accordance with Commission Recommendation

2003/361/EC. This information is used for statistical purposes only.

2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

2.1. General purpose and context of the contract

With the Europe 2020 strategy, inclusive growth got a more prominent place as it became one

of its three main pillars. Its objective is to foster a high-employment economy delivering

social and territorial cohesion. Actions under this priority aim at modernising and

strengthening employment, education and training policies and social protection systems by

increasing labour participation and reducing structural unemployment, as well as raising

corporate social responsibility among the business community. Access to affordable and

quality childcare facilities and care for other dependents is essential in this respect as it is a

prerequisite for increasing labour market participation and participation in training to adapt to

new conditions and enable potential career shifts. Member States are asked to do major efforts

in order to combat poverty and social exclusion and reduce health inequalities. Equally

important is promoting a healthy and active ageing population to allow for social cohesion

and higher productivity.

European regional policy is an important player in the field of inclusive growth. The

European Regional and Development Fund (ERDF) has traditionally invested in fields of

6

social inclusion such as for example education and health infrastructure in particular in

convergence regions. Approximately EUR 21,5 billion from the ERDF are allocated to

inclusive growth comprising education, healthcare, childcare, housing and other social

infrastructure for the programming period 2014-2020.

In order to contribute to the Union strategy on inclusive growth each of the European

Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds), including the ERDF, shall focus on three

thematic objectives3, i.e. the promotion of sustainable and quality employment and support

labour mobility, promotion of social inclusion, combating poverty and anti-discrimination and

investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning. In

addition, also other thematic objectives may support inclusive growth such as thematic

objective 1 (strengthening innovation especially innovation in health or social innovation) or

thematic objective 2 (enhancing ICT especially investment in e-health).

A number of horizontal principles are fundamental for social cohesion such as the promotion

of equality between men and women, non-discrimination and accessibility4 but also

challenges resulting from demographic change shall be taken into account.5 6

The Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) wishes to assess the

strategic programming (and first implementation) of inclusive growth during the 2014-2020

period in all operational programmes financed by ERDF, including multi-fund programmes co-

financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), but excluding the cross-border, transnational or

interregional cooperation programmes.

The overall purpose of this study is therefore to develop an evidence-base on how the regulatory

provisions relating to inclusive growth have been incorporated in the programmes for the 2014-

2020 period and how the intervention logic7 was taken up. Experience shows, that Member

States and regions implement inclusive growth in very different ways and that they allocated

different shares of ERDF support to this policy field in addition to setting specific result

indicators adapted to their needs and policy choices. The findings will feed into further

reflections on the future of European regional policy. It may also contribute to improving the

implementation of inclusive growth in the 2014-2020 programmes.

2.2 Objectives of the study

3 Thematic objectives 8, 9 and 10. See also Art 9 and Art 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European

Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund

for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on

the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European

Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (''CPR'') 4 Art. 7 of the CPR and points 5.3 and 5.4 of Annex I of the CPR,. Partnership is another key principle for the

successful implementation of the ERDF but should not be analysed in this study as this was already done in a

previous study. 5 Point 5.5 of Annex I CPR. ,

6 Ex-ante conditionalities were introduced as a new element in the legislation for 2014-2020, though they will

not be subject of specific analysis of this study.. 7 Guidance note for desk officers on the intervention logic available at: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/evaluations/guidance/#1

7

The overall objective of this study is to assess how inclusive growth has been addressed in the

Partnership Agreements and relevant Operational Programmes for the 2014-2020 programming

period in all 28 Member States. In doing so, the study should fulfil the following specific

objectives:

A. Assess how inclusive growth is strategically programmed in the Member States by

analysing certain elements of all Partnership Agreements as well as the relevant

Operational Programmes (OPs) for the current programming period

B. Getting a deeper insight in the Operational Programmes by developing and conducting

an on-line survey and identifying the main strengths, weaknesses and bottlenecks in

programming and first implementation of inclusive growth ERDF investments based on

interviews.

C. Draw conclusions to feed in the reflections about the future European regional policy

2.3 Methodology

Objective A should be addressed through desk studies covering the relevant Operational

Programmes8 co-financed by the ERDF, including multi-fund programmes co-financed by the

ESF.

Objective B should be addressed using three different approaches

1. online-survey: the contractor is invited to develop questionnaires with an

appropriate balance between open and multi-choice questions, to translate them

and the invitations into the relevant EU languages before sending both documents

to all Managing Authorities being responsible for the programming and

implementation of the thematic objectives 8 to 10 in ERDF or multi-fund

programmes. (DG REGIO will provide the national contacts.)

The methodological report shall include the revised draft questionnaires, which

shall be discussed with DG REGIO at the kick off meeting.

2. Interviews with Managing Authorities and Policy Ministries:

o The contractor should conduct interviews with at least one person per

relevant ERDF Operational Programme in the responsible Managing

Authority in 16 Member States9 and one person in the Managing

Authorities responsible for multi-fund programmes (ESF and ERDF.)

(Contact details will be provided by DG REGIO.)

o The contractor should conduct interviews with at least one person per

Policy Ministries (in case where relevant) which developed the strategic

framework/policy line which forms the base for the ERDF interventions.

(Contact details will be provided by DG REGIO.)

3. Interviews with desk officers in DG REGIO and DG EMPL

8 Excluding cross-border, transnational or interregional cooperation programmes

9 Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,

Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain

8

o The contractor should conduct interviews with

At least one desk officer per indicated country being responsible

for inclusive growth implementation in DG REGIO (possible via

phone; contact details will be provided by DG REGIO),

one DG EMPL desk officer per Member State where multi-fund

operational programmes exist (possible via phone; contact details

will be provided by DG REGIO),

one desk officer responsible for inclusive growth in DG REGIO's

Competence Centre for Inclusive Growth, Urban and Territorial

Development (possible via phone; contact details will be

provided by DG REGIO ) and

one desk officer being responsible for social inclusion in the ESF

and FEAD Coordination Unit, for aspects related to multi-fund

OPs ERDF-ESF (possible via phone; contact details will be

provided by DG REGIO).

2.4 Tasks

The study covers five tasks. The first task consists of a report setting out the methodological

approach to the different elements of the study as a whole. It needs to be agreed with the

Commission before proceeding with work on the other tasks. Each of the tasks 2-4 correspond to

one of the objectives of the study set out in the section 2.2. Task 5 relates to meetings to be held

with the Commission.

Task 1: Methodological report

The contractor shall submit a methodological report of max.20 pages (taking into account Annex

I of this document) setting out its approach to carry out the different tasks covered by the study.

Task 2: Data collection and analysis

Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes are interlinked documents. Partnership

Agreements give a framework describing e.g. the arrangements to ensure alignment with the

Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the arrangements to ensure effective

implementation of European Structural and Investment Funds, the arrangements of partnership

principles, and the arrangements to ensure an integrated approach. Each Member State prepares a

Partnership Agreement for the entire programming period and negotiates it with the Commission

who adopts it.10

The ESI Funds, including the ERDF, are implemented through Operational

Programmes (OPs) in accordance with the Partnership Agreement. Each Operational Programme

covers the period of 2014 to 2020 and shall set out a strategy for the programme's contribution to

the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth consistent with the Regulations

and with the content of the Partnership Agreement. Furthermore the OP must be consistent

between the needs identified, the thematic objectives and the investment priorities selected, as

10 Articles 26 to 29 of the CPR.

9

well as the specific objectives and the financial allocation proposed.11

The OPs are negotiated

with and approved by the Commission.12

For the current 2014-2020 programming period Member States have selected mainly under the

thematic objectives 8, 9 and 10 investment priorities in the field of inclusive growth to which

significant ERDF support was allocated13

For ERDF the main investment priorities areas under

inclusive growth include health, shift to community-based services (deinstitutionalisation),

education and training, access to childcare facilities and early childhood education and care,

social regeneration of deprived communities in urban and rural areas, social housing as well as

support for social enterprises.

Task 2.a: Partnership Agreements

The contractor is required to carry out a comparative analysis of the Partnership Agreements

focussing on the following elements. It is important to highlight that a study on “the use of the

new provisions during the programming phase of the European Structural and Investment

Funds” is currently under preparation and the final report should be available soon. One of the

chapters refers briefly on poverty and social exclusion, another one on horizontal principles. The

contractor shall start its work under task 2 with an uptake study, having as reference the study on

the use of the new provisions in order to avoid overlaps or a doubling of work.

Description of the main priority areas of ERDF support for inclusive growth as described

primarily under thematic objectives 8 to 10 and also under other thematic objectives

(such as thematic objectives 1 and 2) when used for inclusive growth measures (see also

description under task 2.b)

In a second step a link should be drawn between above mentioned priority areas and

specific target groups. In the analysis, the contractor shall make explicit reference to the

following questions:

o Do the Partnership Agreements address specific target groups such as Roma,

women, children, disabled persons or homeless persons?

o How are the interventions under the priority areas addressed towards these target

groups and are they implemented in an integrated way?

If special strategies are developed, the contractor should analyse how the application of

horizontal principles14

is planned in the Partnership Agreements, and which

implementation mechanisms are planned to be put in place.

DG REGIO will provide access to all Partnership Agreements to the contractor.

11 Draft Guidelines for the content of the Operational Programme,

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/informat/2014/guidance_op_140314.pdf 12

Article 26 CPR 13

DG REGIO will provide information about allocations to thematic objectives 8 till 10 by Member State and by

Operational Programmes as well as allocations per categories of intervention 049-055.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32014R0215 14

Article 15 (1), (a) and (v) CPR

10

Task 2.b: Operational Programmes

The analysis of the Operational Programmes aims to get a profound understanding of how ERDF

is supporting inclusive growth in the selected Member States.

The contractor shall:

Develop typologies and categorisation systems to synthesis its findings in relation to the

four elements described below.

Based on the initial dataset of specific objectives and result indicators the contractor will

extend the dataset with a view to map the analysis described below, Member States by

Member State ("country fiches").

Produce an interim report with the results of the analysis.

The analysis should have four elements.

1. On a first stage, the analysis should look at the overall structure of the relevant OPs and

answer the following questions:

Which measures are planned under the umbrella of the thematic objectives 8 to 10 and

their respective investment priorities15

and how do they relate to each other? What are the

implementation mechanisms? In order to have a complete picture it should also be

analysed whether special provisions and mechanisms are foreseen in the Operational

Programmes in order to achieve an integrated or at least coordinated support between

ERDF and ESF.

Do other thematic objectives (such as thematic objectives 1 and 2) support also

measures relevant for inclusive growth and if yes, what kind of measures are supported?

2. An integrated approach is a fundamental element when implementing measures for

specific target groups. Therefore:

a) Do the OPs address specific target groups such as marginalised communities such as

Roma, women, children, disabled persons or homeless persons?

b) How are the interventions under the priority areas addressed towards these target

groups and are they implemented in an integrated way?

c) Do the OPs contain specific interventions just for these groups?

d) The recent migration crisis requires special attention to the integration of migrants

and the refugees, so the analyses shall also cover this thematic area and analyse if

special measures are planned.

3. In a third step it should be analysed how horizontal priorities16

are tackled, and what are

the methods and specific actions Member States planned to apply for this purpose.

Therefore:

15 Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December

2013 on the European Regional Development Fund and on specific provisions concerning the Investment for

growth and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 (''ERDF'') 16

Points 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 of Annex I CPR

11

a) Are the specific actions planned in connection with thematic objectives 8 to 10 and

the investment priorities?

b) Do the Member State envisage a “mainstreaming” of the horizontal objectives into

the general process of implementation, management and evaluation?

4. In addition to the thematic analysis as described above DG REGIO is especially

interested to see the link, if there is one, between the priority areas chosen for inclusive

growth support and the territorial dimension. The common provisions regulation

introduced instruments to help implement integrated territorial strategies on local level,

linking the thematic objectives identified in the Partnership Agreements and Operational

Programmes and the territorial dimension: community-led local development17 and

integrated territorial investments18. The contractor should analyse the extent to which both

of these territorial tools are planned to be used to target social cohesion problems and

describe or typify the interventions planned.

DG REGIO will provide access to all Operational Programmes to the contractor.

The tender documentation shall include the proposed approach to develop and the structure

for the following:

- user friendly database allowing combined searches by e.g. OP reference, fund,

thematic objectives, investment priorities, main measures, target groups, etc.

- proposed structured for the intermediate report.

Task 3: Assessment of the negotiation process, programming and first implementations

The scope of task 3 is to get more detailed information about, on the one hand, the negotiation

process and the main strengths, weaknesses and bottlenecks in the programming of inclusive

growth in ERDF and multi-fund programmes. On the other hand, the contactor should enquire

about first ERDF implementation during the interviews.

The online-survey and the interviews should help to understand both the added value of ERDF

support in the field of inclusive growth as well as the problems Member States encountered and

difficulties they perceived when following the legal provisions.

The contractor will draw conclusions from the online-survey and the interviews which are

suitable to feed in the reflections about the future European regional policy.

Task 3 should be done using different tools as described under objective B.

Task 3 a) online-survey

The online-survey should help to get a general idea about the ERDF and multi-fund

programming and negotiation process.

17 Articles 32-35 CPR.

18 Article 36 CPR.

12

The aim of the online-survey is to get a feedback on the experiences with the transposition of the

regulatory framework obligations and the requirements of DG REGIO's guidance documents as

well as experiences with the negotiations process.

The survey will answer, amongst others, following question:

What new elements with regard to inclusive growth in the regulatory framework were

perceived as an improvement in comparison to the 2007-2013 regulatory framework ?

What new elements regarding inclusive growth in the current regulatory framework were

perceived as burdensome or difficult to implement?

What elements with regard to inclusive growth in the regulatory framework were

especially difficult to agree on during negotiations?

Which were the elements no agreement could be found during the negotiations, with

regard to inclusive growth, between the Commission and the Managing Authority?

In addition to the ESF support, where lies the added value of ERDF support for inclusive

growth?

Were the DG REGIO guidance documents relating to inclusive growth helpful and if yes,

which elements?

Task 3b) Interviews with Managing Authorities and Policy Ministries

The interviews will be conducted with at least one person per ERDF Operational Programme in

the responsible Managing Authority, one representative from a Managing Authority responsible

for the administration of multi-fund OPs ERDF-ESF in the relevant countries and with Policy

Ministries if relevant.

The interviews with Managing Authorities and Policy Ministries should help to get a more

profound understanding about the negotiation process and the main strengths, weaknesses and

bottlenecks in the programming of inclusive growth in ERDF and multi-fund programmes.

The answers received during the online-survey including the questions listed above, might be

helpful to formulate more in-depth questions for the interviews.

In addition, the contractor should inquire during the interviews if programme implementation has

already started and if calls for proposals have been launched. The contractor should provide a list

of 4 calls per priority area (health, shift to community-based services, education and training,

access to childcare facilities and early childhood education and care, social regeneration of

deprived communities in urban and rural areas, social housing, support to social enterprises) and,

if available, an overview of 4 calls aiming to offer specific support for marginalised communities

such as Roma, migrants and refugees. This list should be send to DG REGIO which will select a

limited number of calls which should be analysed more in detail.

In order to obtain a broad picture, the contractor will also conduct interviews with at least one

desk officer per Member State in the geographical units of DG REGIO being responsible for the

implementation of inclusive growth as well as one desk officer per Member State in the

geographical units of DG EMPL being responsible for social inclusion in the case of multi-fund

ERDF-ESF OPs. The aim is to get an understanding of the problems the Commission faced

13

when negotiating with the Member States, which requirements were especially difficult to agree

on or where no agreement could be found. Additionally, areas should be identified that the desk

officers find most challenging for programme implementation based on their experience. This

should also include the challenges in ensuring a coordinated and integrated approach to inclusive

growth in the programming stage of multi-fund ERDF-ESF OPs.

The tender documentation shall include the proposed approach to develop and the structure

for the following:

- a survey template (for the online-survey) with a defined set of draft questions,19

- a strategy to maximise the response rate,

- a script for the interviews to:

o Managing Authorities;

o Policy Ministries representatives ;

o desk officers in DG REGIO;

- proposed structure of the final report.

Task 4: Provide conclusions and recommendations

On the basis of tasks 2 the contractor shall provide conclusions on how inclusive growth is

programmed in the ERDF Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes recapping the

main issues at stake, highlighting characteristics as well as peculiarities.

The analysis of task 3 should lead to conclusions of strengths and weaknesses of ERDF strategic

programming (and first implementations) in the field of inclusive growth during the current

programming period and might include also negative priorities. Bottlenecks should be identified

as well as perceived difficulties, problems encountered during negotiation or during

programming as well as fields for improvement. This analysis should culminate in two main

areas: on the one hand, the added value of ERDF support for inclusive growth should be

highlighted. On the other hand, policy conclusions and clear recommendations should be given

which will feed in the reflections about the future European regional policy. Such

recommendations could highlight elements of inclusive growth support by ERDF in the current

programming period which would be helpful to be kept or strengthened in the future European

regional policy as well as a set of possible improvements.

In addition, country specific conclusions or main lessons learnt for each or the 16 Member States

listed in the footnote 10 should be drawn and added to the "country fiches". Such country

specific conclusions should summarize the main strengths and weaknesses of the strategic

programming in the given country including an analysis of the intervention logic, of possible

overlaps or synergies between OPs (and the Partnership Agreement) as well as an analysis if the

Partnership Agreement/Operational Programmes follow an integrated approach.

19 The online-survey questionnaires should have an appropriate balance between open and multi-choice questions.

The invitations and the questionnaires should be translated into the relevant EU languages.

14

Task 5: Meetings with the Commission

The contractor is expected to attend five meetings to be held in DG REGIO’s premises in

Brussels.

A kick-off meeting will be organised between the Contractor and the Commission at the early

stage of the project implementation. Furthermore there will be a meeting to discuss the

methodological report, a meeting to discuss the interim report and a meeting to discuss the draft

final report. A final meeting is required during which the contractor will present the final report.

These meetings will be organised by the Commission in accordance with the contractor.

The participation of the contract manager will be required in each of the meetings organised.

Video conferences could be also organised except for the kick-off meeting and the last meeting.

2.5 Deliverables

The contractor is expected to provide the following deliverables:

1. Methodological report (task 1): a report (max 20 pages) describing the methodology

that will be applied to the study.

2. Interim report: an interim report covering task 2 (including an interim mapping of the

content of all relevant Operational Programmes).

3. Draft final report: it shall consist of an executive summary and the draft report itself

covering tasks 2-4 (including the final version of the database based on the ERDF and

multi-fund programmes analysis)

4. Final report: it shall include the final report itself addressing all the specific objectives

(A-C) of the study. It shall also include an abstract of no more than 200 words, a

publishable executive summary of maximum 6 pages, and key words to facilitate web

references of the study. It should finally include a self-explanatory power-point, provided

also in an electronic version, summarising the results and conclusions.

All the different deliverables shall be submitted in English and in an easily accessible style.

French versions have to be provided for the executive summary and the abstract only.

Each deliverable will be examined by the Commission (a DG REGIO steering group which will

participate also in the meetings), which may ask for additional modifications or propose changes

in order to redirect the work if necessary. Deliverables must be approved by the Commission.

The Commission has 60 days in total to approve deliverables and make the relevant payment.

The Contractor shall have 21 calendar days to submit additional information or a new deliverable

if requested by the Commission.

The duration of the contract is 13 months. The specific deadline per deliverable is indicated

below. The study envisages several meetings in Brussels with the steering group in relation to the

deliverables.

15

End month Deliverable (D)/Meeting (M) Output

0 M1 Kick-off meeting

1.5 D1 Task 1 (methodological report)

2 M2 Meeting to discuss the

methodological report

6,5 D2 Interim report covering task 2

7 M3 Meeting to discuss the interim

report (task 2)

10 D3 Draft final report

10,5 M4 Meeting to discuss the draft final

report

12 D4 Final report

12,5 M5 Final meeting, oral presentation of

the final report

After the approval of the final report by the Commission, the contractor will be expected to give

an oral presentation of its final report, highlighting the main results and conclusions. This

presentation will take place in Brussels.

A hard copy and an electronic version of the interim report and the draft final report is required.

For the final report three hard copies and an electronic version (three CDs, Word format and

PDF format or equivalent application compatible to MS Office) are required.

3. CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND GRAPHIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE

DELIVERABLES

The contractor must deliver the study and other deliverables as indicated below.

3.1. Content

3.1.1. Final study report

The final study report must include:

- An abstract of no more than 200 words, an executive summary of maximum 6 pages,

both in English and French and key words to facilitate web references of the study

- specific identifiers which must be incorporated on the cover page provided by the

Contracting Authority;

- the following disclaimer:

“The information and views set out in this [report/study/article/publication…] are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The

Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither

the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held

responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.”

16

3.1.2. Publishable executive summary

The publishable executive summary must be provided in both in English and French and must

include:

- specific identifiers which must be incorporated on the cover page provided by the

Contracting Authority;

- the following disclaimer:

“The information and views set out in this [report/study/article/publication…] are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The

Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither

the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held

responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.”

3.1.3. Requirements for publication on Internet

The Commission is committed to making online information as accessible as possible to the

largest possible number of users including those with visual, auditory, cognitive or physical

disabilities, and those not having the latest technologies. The Commission supports the Web

Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 of the W3C.

For full details on the Commission policy on accessibility for information providers, see:

http://ec.europa.eu/ipg/standards/accessibility/index_en.htm

For the publishable versions of the study, abstract and executive summary, the contractor

must respect the W3C guidelines for accessible pdf documents as provided at:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/ .

3.2. Graphic requirements

The contractor must deliver the study and all publishable deliverables in full compliance with

the corporate visual identity of the European Commission, by applying the graphic rules set

out in the European Commission's Visual Identity Manual, including its logo. The graphic

rules, the Manual and further information are available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/services/visual_identity/index_en.htm

A simple Word template will be provided to the contractor after contract signature. The

contractor must fill in the cover page in accordance with the instructions provided in the

template. The use of templates for studies is exclusive to European Commission's contractors.

No template will be provided to tenderers while preparing their tenders.

17

4. EVALUATION AND AWARD

The evaluation is based solely on the information provided in the submitted tender. It involves

the following:

1. Verification of non-exclusion of tenderers on the basis of the exclusion criteria

2. Selection of tenderers on the basis of selection criteria

3. Verification of compliance with the minimum requirements set out in these tender

specifications

4. Evaluation of tenders on the basis of the award criteria

The contracting authority may reject abnormally low tenders, in particular if it established that

the tenderer or a subcontractor does not comply with applicable obligations in the fields of

environmental, social and labour law.

The tenders will be assessed in the order indicated above. Only tenders meeting the

requirements of one step will pass on to the next step.

4.1. Verification of non-exclusion

All tenderers must provide a declaration on honour (see Annex II) signed and dated by an

authorised representative, stating that they are not in one of the situations of exclusion listed

in that declaration on honour.

In case of joint tender, each member of the group must provide a declaration on honour

signed by an authorised representative.

In case of subcontracting, all subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 20 % and

whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria must provide a declaration on

honour signed by an authorised representative.

The Contracting Authority reserves the right to verify whether the successful tenderer is in

one of the situations of exclusion by requiring the supporting documents listed in the

declaration of honour.

The successful tenderer must provide the documents mentioned as supporting evidence in the

declaration on honour before signature of the contract and within a deadline given by the

contracting authority. This requirement applies to each member of the group in case of joint

tender and to all subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 20 % and whose capacity

is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria. The obligation to submit supporting evidence does

not apply to international organisations.

A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not

required to submit the documentary evidence if it has already been submitted for another

procurement procedure and provided the documents were issued not more than one year

before the date of their request by the contracting authority and are still valid at that date. In

such cases, the tenderer must declare on its honour that the documentary evidence has already

been provided in a previous procurement procedure, indicate the reference of the procedure

and confirm that that there has been no change in its situation.

18

A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not

required to submit a specific document if the contracting authority can access the document in

question on a national database free of charge.

4.2. Selection criteria

Tenderers must prove their legal, regulatory, economic, financial, technical and professional

capacity to carry out the work subject to this procurement procedure.

The tenderer may rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of the

links which it has with them. It must in that case prove to the Contracting Authority that it

will have at its disposal the resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example

by producing an undertaking on the part of those entities to place those resources at its

disposal.

The tender must include the proportion of the contract that the tenderer intends to subcontract.

4.2.1. Declaration and evidence

The tenderers (and each member of the group in case of joint tender) and subcontractors

whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria must provide the declaration on

honour (see Annex II), signed and dated by an authorised representative, stating that they

fulfil the selection criteria applicable to them individually. For the criteria applicable to the

tenderer as a whole the tenderer (sole tenderer or leader in case of joint tender) must provide

the declaration on honour stating that the tenderer, including all members of the group in case

of joint tender and including subcontractors if applicable, fulfils the selection criteria for

which a consolidated assessment will be carried out.

This declaration is part of the declaration used for exclusion criteria (see section 4.1) so only

one declaration covering both aspects should be provided by each concerned entity.

The Contracting Authority will evaluate selection criteria on the basis of the declarations on

honour. Nevertheless, it reserves the right to require evidence of the legal and regulatory,

financial and economic and technical and professional capacity of the tenderers at any time

during the procurement procedure and contract performance. In such case the tenderer must

provide the requested evidence without delay. The Contracting Authority may reject the

tender if the requested evidence is not provided in due time.

After contract award, the successful tenderer will be required to provide the evidence

mentioned below before signature of the contract and within a deadline given by the

contracting authority. This requirement applies to each member of the group in case of joint

tender and to subcontractors whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria.

A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not

required to submit the documentary evidence if it has already been submitted for another

procurement procedure and provided the documents were issued not more than one year

before the date of their request by the contracting authority and are still valid at that date. In

such cases, the tenderer must declare on its honour that the documentary evidence has already

been provided in a previous procurement procedure, indicate the reference of the procedure

and confirm that that there has been no change in its situation.

19

A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not

required to submit a specific document if the contracting authority can access the document in

question on a national database free of charge.

4.2.2. Legal and regulatory capacity

Tenderers must prove that they are allowed to pursue the professional activity necessary to

carry out the work subject to this call for tenders. The tenderer (including each member of the

group in case of joint tender) must provide the following information in its tender if it has not

been provided with the Legal Entity Form:

- 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 applicable to the legal person requires such

publication. Any delegation of this authorisation to another representative not indicated in the

official appointment must be evidenced.

- For natural persons, if required under applicable law, a proof of registration on a

professional or trade register or any other official document showing the registration number.

4.2.3. Economic and financial capacity criteria

The tenderer must have the necessary economic and financial capacity to perform this

contract until its end. In order to prove their capacity, the tenderer must comply with the

following selection criteria.

- Criterion F1: Turnover of the last two financial years together above EUR 500.000; this

criterion applies to the tenderer as a whole, i.e. the combined capacity of all members of a

group in case of a joint tender.

Evidence (to be provided on request):

- Copy of the profit and loss accounts and balance sheet for the last two years for which

accounts have been closed from each concerned legal entity;

- Failing that, appropriate statements from banks;

If, for some exceptional reason which the Contracting Authority considers justified, a tenderer

is unable to provide one or other of the above documents, it may prove its economic and

financial capacity by any other document which the Contracting Authority considers

appropriate. In any case, the Contracting Authority must at least be notified of the exceptional

reason and its justification. The Commission reserves the right to request any other document

enabling it to verify the tenderer's economic and financial capacity.

20

4.2.4. Technical and professional capacity criteria and evidence

A. Criteria relating to tenderers

Tenderers (in case of a joint tender the combined capacity of all members of the group and

identified subcontractors) must comply with the criteria listed below. The evidence must be

provided only on request.

The project references indicated below consist in a list of relevant services provided in the

past three years, with sums, dates and recipients, public or private. The most important

services shall be accompanied by certificates of satisfactory execution, specifying that they

have been carried out in a professional manner and have been fully completed.

- Criterion A1: The tenderer must prove its experience in the field of European regional

policy analysis with a special focus on the programming and implementation of inclusive

growth. The tenderer must have first-hand experience with strategy and programming and a

very good knowledge on implementation mechanisms under shared management. In addition,

the tenderer must prove experience in data collection, data analysis as well as the capacity to

draft analytical reports.

Evidence A1: The knowledge of European regional policy must be proved with at least 5

projects delivered in the last three years with a minimum value for each project of € 50.000.

- Criterion A2: The tenderer must prove its capacity to work and to communicate

professionally in English having at least C1 level in the Common European Framework for

Reference for Languages20

Evidence A2: The tenderer must provide references for all major projects delivered in the last

three years showing the necessary language coverage.

- Criterion A3: The tenderer must prove its capacity to draft reports in English.

Evidence A3: The tenderer must provide one document of at least 10 pages (report, study,

etc.) in English that it has drafted and published or delivered to a client in the last two years.

The verification will be carried out on 5 pages of the document.

- Criterion A4: The tenderer must prove its capacity to analyse all relevant Operational

Programmes financed by ERDF which are written in 2321

EU official languages (Croatian,

Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian,

Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Spanish and

Swedish). In case the tenderer does not speak the necessary languages it must organise

professional translations services (the costs must be part of the study).

20 See http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Cadre1_en.asp

21 The European Union currently has 24 official languages. For the purpose of this contract no knowledge of

Irish is requested.

21

Evidence A4: The tenderer must provide references for either projects it conducted itself in

other than in the country of its origin or it must show evidence of joint projects with partners

who cover the required geographical scope in the last three years.

- Criterion A5: The tenderer must be able to conduct interviews in the required Member

States. In case the tenderer does not speak the necessary languages it must organise

professional translations services (the costs must be part of the study).

Evidence A5: The tenderer must provide references for either projects it conducted itself in

other than in the country of its origin or it must show evidence of joint projects with partners

who cover the required geographical scope in the last three years. In case the tenderer is not

able to cover all tasks by itself (including analysis of all relevant Ops and interviews the

required Member States) it must prove that it has contacts in the EU countries not covered in

order to ensure the required geographical coverage; for this purpose, the tenderer must

provide letters of intent from the contact points.

B. Criteria relating to the team delivering the service

As part of the tender documentation, the team to be involved in this subject should be

identified, describing their skills and qualifications (see below), quantifying the input of each

member of the team in terms of days and explaining the distribution of tasks between the

different team members involved.

Evidence must be provided and will consist in CVs of the team responsible to deliver the

services. Each CV should indicate the intended function in the delivery of the services.

The team delivering the service shall include, as a minimum, the following profiles:

B1 - Project Manager:

- At least 7 years of working experience in the field of European regional policy

analysis with a special focus on the programming and implementation of inclusive

growth. S/He must have first-hand experiences with strategy and programming and a

very good knowledge on implementation mechanisms under shared management. In

addition, data collection experience and the capacity to draft analytical reports are

fundamental for this study.

- At least 5 years` experience in project management, including managing a project of

similar size and coverage (geographical scope at least half of the one subject to this

call for tender) guarantying on time delivery, quality control of delivered service and

client orientation.

- Management experiences of at least 5 years leading a team of different partners or

sub-contractors which each being responsible for a specific task/deliverable.

Evidence: CV

22

B2 - Language quality: At least 2 members of the team should have native-level language

skills in English or equivalent (at least Level C2 according to the Council of Europe's

Common European Framework for Reference for Languages22

)

Evidence: language certificate or past relevant experience

B3 – Experts being responsible for task 2 “data collection and analysis": a team should be

created to analyse the different Operational Programmes. The responsible person/persons for

the OP/OPs analysis in a given Member State should have at least C1 level both in the

relevant language as well as in English in order to be able to exchange information and

communicate with the project manager. The expert/experts should have proven experience in

data collection techniques.

Evidence: CV and language certificate

B4 – Experts being responsible for tasks 1, 3 and 4: Knowledge about social inclusion and

at least 3 years of working experience regarding European regional policy and in particular

programme analysis and assessment. Experiences are required in conducting both an on-line

survey as well as in-depth interviews with Member States. Very good analytical skills to sum-

up and bring together the results of tasks 1-3 in order to draft conclusions and

recommendations as described under task 4.

Evidence: CV and language certificate

4.3. Award criteria

The contract will be awarded based on the most economically advantageous tender, according

to the 'best price-quality ratio' award method. The quality of the tender will be evaluated

based on the four award quality criteria described below. The maximum total quality score is

100 points.

The quality will be determined on the basis of the 3 award quality criteria below:

1) Quality of the methodology proposed (max. 50 points)

This criterion will assess the quality and the appropriateness of the methodology set

out in the tender and of the specific methodology illustrated for each task. In view of

this, the tenderer should provide a synthetic and exhaustive description of the

approaches it intend to use for this study and the methods it intends to follow,

including the arrangements and methodologies proposed for the surveys and

interviews.

The completeness, the clarity and the relevance of the technical approach in respect of

the tasks described in the tender specifications under point 2 as well as the degree to

which all relevant issues are covered.

22 See http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Cadre1_en.asp

23

Appropriate design of the technical approach as to produce reliable data, sound

analysis, credible findings and valid conclusions. In view of this, the tasks envisaged

shall be described including the analytical tools employed.

2) Organisation of the work and resources (max. 30 points)

This criterion will assess how the roles and responsibilities of the proposed team and

of the different economic operators (in case of joint tenders, including subcontractors

if applicable) are distributed for each task. It also assesses the global allocation of time

and resources to the project and to each task or deliverable, and whether this allocation

is adequate for the work. The tender should provide details on the allocation of time

and human resources and the rationale behind the choice of this allocation. Details

should be provided as part of the technical offer. It is not a budget requested as part of

the financial offer.

3) Quality control measures (max. 20 points)

This criterion will assess the quality control system applied to the service foreseen in

this tender specification concerning the quality of the deliverables, the language

quality check, and the continuity of the service in case of absence of a member of the

team. The quality system should be detailed in the tender and specific to the tasks at

hand; a generic quality system will result in a low score.

Tenders must score minimum 50% for each criterion and minimum 70% in total. Tenders that

do not reach the minimum quality levels will be rejected and will not be ranked.

4.4. Ranking of tenders

The contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, i.e. the tender

offering the best price-quality ratio determined in accordance with the formula below. A

weight of 70/30 is given to quality and price.

Score of tender X=

score for tender X =

cheapest price

price of tender X

* 100 * price weighting (in %)

+ total quality score (out of 100)

for all award criteria of tender X *

quality criteria weighting (in %)

The tender ranked first after applying the formula will be awarded the contract.

24

5. ANNEX

Annex I: Main elements the Operational Programmes should comply with regarding

inclusive growth as described in DG REGIO's guidance documents23

and the regulatory

framework

Health

Link to national and/or regional strategic policy framework for health

Transformation of the health system (reform)

Balance between institutional (hospital) and community-based health services

Shift to community-based services (deinstitutionalisation)

Link to policy frameworks, such as deinstitutionalization or national poverty reduction

Link to legal obligations under the UNCRPD to which the Union is a party

Breakdown of ERDF allocation to institutional and community-based care

Needs assessment of target groups (children, mental health patients, disabled persons,

elderly)

Education

Concentration on areas within the overall strategy allowing for measurable impact and

added value

Link to strategic policy framework to reduce early school leaving

Link to national or regional strategic policy framework for increasing tertiary education

attainment, quality and efficiency

Link to national or regional strategic policy framework for lifelong learning

Link to national or regional strategic policy framework for increasing the quality and

efficiency of VET systems

Segregation in education cannot be financed by ERDF24

Roma inclusion

Link to National Roma Integration Strategy, sustainable urban development strategy,

community-led local development strategy and any other relevant strategy framework

Link to mainstream actions, relevance to structural reforms (transformation of

employment, educational, social, health and housing policies)

Segregation, physical isolation of Roma in educational and housing facilities must be

avoided

Identification, where relevant, of those disadvantaged micro-regions or segregated

neighbourhoods, where communities are most deprived

Involvement of relevant stakeholders

23 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/legislation/guidance.

24 Hereby special attention should be paid to forms of indirect discrimination (apparently neutral measures with

disparate impact) leading to segregation.

25

Horizontal priorities and fundamental rights25

Gender equality:

Member States shall pursue the objective of equality between women and men and take

appropriate steps to prevent any discrimination during the preparation, implementation,

monitoring and evaluation of the operations.

Member States shall describe actions taken, in particular with regard to the selection of

operations, the objectives for the interventions, and arrangements for monitoring and

reporting.

Gender disaggregated analysis where appropriate is welcomed.

Accessibility:

Actions during the programme lifecycles aiming that services and infrastructure that are

open or provided to the public are accessible to all citizens including those with

disabilities in accordance with applicable law including provisions of the UNCRPD

thereby contributing to a barrier-free environment for persons with disabilities and

elderly

Addressing demographic change:

Inclusion of all age groups, including through improved access to education and social

support structures with a view to enhancing job opportunities for the elderly and young

people and with a focus on regions with high rates of youth unemployment in

comparison to the Union average rate.

Identification of measures to support demographic renewal through better coordination

for families and an improved balance between working and family life, investment in

education, ICT and research and innovation, focus on the adequacy and quality of

education, training and social support structures, and promote cost-effective provisions of

health care and long-term care including investment in e-health, e-care and infrastructure.

25 Points 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 of Annex I of CPR

26

Annex II: Declaration of honour

See separate document