Service prior information notice
Location — all areas/regions and countries
1.
Publication reference:
EuropeAid/138778/DH/SER/MULTI.
3.
Programme title:
All European Union external aid programmes.
4.
Financing:
The framework contract itself has 0 EUR value. Specific contracts to be signed under the framework contract will be financed by the different EU external aid programmes of the budget or the EDF.
5.
Contracting authority:
European Union, represented by the European Commission, Brussels, BELGIUM.
6.
Nature of contract:
Multiple framework contract with reopening of competition.
7.
Contract description:
The framework contract will serve to provide services for the implementation of EU external aid.
The framework contract will be concluded with several successful tenderers per lot for a total duration of 4 years (an initial contract of 2 years, renewable for a further 2 years). The foreseen lots will cover:
1) agriculture (including fisheries)/nutrition/food security/rural development/environment/climate change/natural resource management/resilience;
2) infrastructure/water/cities/ICT/energy and climate change;
3) human rights/governance/civil society/local authorities and decentralisation/crisis management/migration/security;
4) human development: education/culture/health/vocational education and training/research and innovation;
5) private sector/trade/employment creation/sustainable and inclusive growth.
At a minimum, the expertise required for each lot will cover the entire cycle of operations:
a) design and implementation (including expertise on logical framework approach and monitoring and evaluation);
b) for procurement, the preparation of terms of reference (services) and technical annexes (works and supplies) and the evaluation of offers;
c) preparation of guidelines for calls for proposals and evaluation of grant proposals;
d) evaluations (‘ex-ante’, interim, ‘ex post’, etc.), monitoring (this does not include the ROM (results-oriented monitoring) exercise which is covered by other contracts) and will include expertise and services related to a number of horizontal aspects of external assistance:
e) policy analysis, design and reforms (including gender analysis, institutional/stakeholder analysis);
f) mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues (climate change, environment, resilience, youth, gender, disabilities, and more broadly rights-based approach);
g) macroeconomics, data collection and analysis;
h) public financial management;
i) investment financing;
j) legislation, regulations and law enforcement, legislative gap analysis;
k) capacity development and institutional strengthening;
l) training and research;
m) awareness raising (incl. information and communication).
During the implementation period of the framework contract, for each request for services, several framework contractors within the relevant lot will be invited to submit an offer. The contracting authority will choose the offer with best value for money for the assignment on the basis of the technical quality of the offer and the price of the services, and will conclude a specific contract with that framework contractor.
8.
Indicative budget:
Indicative budget for 4 years: approx. 650 000 000 EUR.
9.
Intended timing of publication of the contract notice and tender dossier:
April 2017.
10.
Additional information:
(a) Consortium members must be eligible under at least one of the EU external aid programmes. The lead firm of the consortium with whom the framework contract is concluded must be eligible for all EU external aid programmes.
For each specific contract, the eligibility will be governed by the programme under which the specific contract is financed.
(b) The amount under point 8 is an indicative estimate for all the lots together, and does not constitute a minimum or maximum commitment. The estimate for each individual lot will be published with the contract notice.
11.
Legal basis:
All EU external aid programmes.
Remarks:
There must be a minimum period of 30 calendar days between the publication of this prior information notice and the publication of the corresponding contract notice.
No applications or requests for information should be sent at this stage.