Notice of call for expressions of interest
1.
Contracting authority:
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), Operational Support Unit, Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, Dublin, D18 KP65, IRELAND. E-mail: OSUTenders@eurofound.europa.eu
2.
Registration procedure:
The objective of this call for expressions of interest is to set up a list of external experts.
Expressions of interest should be submitted in one of the official languages of the European Union by electronic means at the following address:
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/about-eurofound/procurement/call-for-external-experts
Inclusion on the list entails no obligation on the part of the contracting authority concerning the conclusion of contracts.
3.
Information and documents to be provided:
Interested parties should provide their full contact details and list the specific areas indicated at point 7 that they wish to apply for in their expression of interest.
The supporting evidence to be provided for the evaluation of the selection criteria is indicated at point 11.
4.
General description of the procedure:
Natural persons are invited to submit an expression of interest in accordance with the rules set out in this notice.
The contracting authority will draw up a list of experts who meet the criteria set out at point 11. This list comprises sub-lists, corresponding to each of the areas described at point 7.
When there is a requirement for expert advice of the nature outlined in point 7, Eurofound will assign 1 or more expert(s) to the tasks based on the best match between the scope of the advice and the experts profile on the relevant shortlist, and in accordance with the principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment and absence of conflict of interests.
5.
Protection of personal data:
If processing your expression of interest involves the recording and processing of personal data (such as your name, address and CV), such data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18.12.2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. Unless indicated otherwise, your reply to this notice and any personal data requested are required for the purposes indicated above in point 4 and will be processed solely for those purposes by the contracting authority indicated in point 1, which is also acting as data controller. Details concerning the processing of your personal data are available on the privacy statement at:
http://ec.europa.eu/dataprotectionofficer/privacystatement_publicprocurement_en.pdf
Your personal data may be registered in the early warning system (EWS) only or both in the EWS and central exclusion database (CED) by the Accounting Officer of the Commission, should you be in one of the situations mentioned in:
— Commission Decision 2008/969/EC, Euratom of 16.12.2008 on the Early Warning System for the use of authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies (for more information see the privacy statement on
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm), or
— Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1302/2008 of 17.12.2008 on the central exclusion database (for more information see the privacy statement on
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm#BDCE).
6.
Use of the list resulting from this notice:
The list resulting from this notice will be used exclusively for execution of the tasks within the areas described at point 7, with a maximum threshold of 135 000 EUR of total payments (including both remunerations and reimbursements) per expert.
7.
Full description of the areas covered by the call for expressions of interest:
Eurofound's new programming document for 2017 to 2020, launched at the start of this year, sets out the work that the Agency plans to undertake over the next 4 years. This work will provide European decision makers with an evidence base to formulate policies aimed at achieving upward convergence of living and working conditions in the European Union.
The document outlines 6 strategic areas of intervention (further referred to as ‘area’) in which Eurofound will carry out its activities:
1. working conditions and sustainable work;
2. industrial relations;
3. labour market change;
4. quality of life and public services;
5. the digital age: opportunities and challenges for work and employment; and
6. monitoring convergence in the European Union.
The first 4 are the core areas where Eurofound has established its expertise over 40 years; these ensure continuity in the Agency's work. The final 2 — the digital shift and convergence in the EU — capture cross-cutting challenges that are likely to have a transforming influence on Eurofound's specific fields of interest. In addition Eurofound continues to develop its expertise in EU-wide surveys. The programming document is available at
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/work-programme/2016/programming-document-2017-2020
Eurofound's research staff involved with the implementation of the programme seek to collaborate with experts in the abovementioned areas. While it will continue with contracting experts for specific research projects through public procurement procedures, it is the objective of this call for expressions of interest to establish a list of experts for providing opinions and advice in specific cases, including but not exclusively through peer review of Eurofound's own work, and assisting in the design or academic assessment of projects and tenders. Such tasks will usually take the equivalent of 1 or 2 working days maximum.
Experts replying to this call for expression of interest can submit their expression of interest in relation to 1 area, a combination, or all of them.
8.
Place of delivery:
Some of the requests may involve advice by e-mail, telephone or videoconference. Other times participation in expert meetings is involved, either at Eurofound's premises in Dublin, Ireland or elsewhere in the EU, notably in Brussels, Belgium.
9.
Expiry date of the list resulting from this call for expressions of interest:
The list resulting from this notice is valid for a maximum duration of 5 years. Interested parties may submit an application at any time prior to the last 3 months of validity of the list.
10.
Exclusion criteria:
Experts shall be excluded from participation 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 or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State 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 including by decisions of the European Investment Bank and international organisations;
(d) they are not in compliance with 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 or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of ‘res judicata’ for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity, where such an illegal activity is detrimental to the Union's financial interests;
(f) they are subject to an administrative penalty for being guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in a procurement procedure or failing to supply information, or being declared to be in serious breach of their obligation under a contract covered by the budget;
(g) they have a conflict of interest in connection with the contract; a conflict of interest could arise in particular as a result of economic interests, political or national affinities, family or emotional ties or any other relevant connection or shared interest.
Before signing a contract experts shall provide a declaration on their honour stating that they are not in one of the situations of exclusion listed above. In case of doubt, they may be requested to provide supporting evidence of non-exclusion.
11.
Selection criteria relating to technical and professional capacity:
Selection criteria — means of proof required per area:
a) university degree of at least bachelor's level;
b) documented research competence in terms of education, experience and publications relevant to the applied for area(s);
c) English documented for example through reference to published work or presentations.
12.
Conditions of remuneration and reimbursement of experts:
The default remuneration for participating in an expert meeting is payment of travel and subsistence cost based on the standard rules for reimbursement of meeting participants:
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/rules-for-reimbursement
If a fee is to be paid the maximum payable is 450 EUR per day (225 EUR for half a day). The main condition of payment for an expert fee is that the advice provided must be specific to the project/activity concerned and reflected in related documentation, for example, minutes, e-mail or note.
13.
‘Ex post’ transparency:
A list of experts (name and subject of the tasks executed) who have concluded a contract following the procedure set out at point 4 shall be published on the website of the contracting authority.
If an expert has concluded a contract of more than 15 000 EUR, the name, the locality (region of origin), amount, and subject of the contract shall be published on the website of the contracting authority no later than 30 June of the year following contract award. The information shall be removed 2 years after the year of contract award.
14.
Date of dispatch of notice:
13.3.2017.
15.
Date of receipt by the Publications Office of the European Union:
13.3.2017.