Directive 2004/18/EC
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)Official name: European Central Bank
Postal address: Sonnemannstraße 22
Town: Frankfurt-on-Main
Postal code: 60314
Country: Germany
For the attention of: Josef Pinhas
E-mail: procurement@ecb.europa.eu
Telephone: +49 6913440
Fax: +49 6913447110
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority: http://www.ecb.europa.eu
Electronic access to information: http://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/jobsproc/tenders/html/index.en.html
Further information can be obtained from:
The above mentioned contact point(s)
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from:
The above mentioned contact point(s)
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to:
The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2)Type of the contracting authorityEuropean institution/agency or international organisation
I.3)Main activityEconomic and financial affairs
I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authoritiesThe 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:
Provision of management consultancy services.
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performanceServices
Service category No 11: Management consulting services [6] and related services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Frankfurt-on-Main.
NUTS code DE712 Frankfurt am Main
II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement
II.1.4)Information on framework agreementFramework agreement with several operators
maximum number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged: 6
Duration of the framework agreement
Duration in months: 24
Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 1 500 000 and 6 000 000 EUR
II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
Over the last years, the ECB's responsibilities have grown substantially with the challenges it has faced, and so has its organisation. In September 2014, the ECB launched a major review of its internal workings with a focus on enhancing overall organisational performance. The purpose of the project is to review the internal structure and processes to ultimately ensure that the ECB continues to fulfil its mandate in the most efficient way.
In the context of the project, a series of high-level actions have been identified as key areas for performance improvement and their implementation is steered via 8 work streams and 1 coordination office.
The ECB is seeking external service providers in order to support the implementation of action plans designed under the project and, beyond the project, help the ECB meet its organisational challenges of the coming years.
The purpose of this tender is to first qualify up to 6 capable potential providers, invite them to submit proposals, and eventually award up to 6 framework agreements with a duration of 2 years and the possibility of extensions up to a total duration of 4 years.
The services and works will be called up on the basis of mini-competitions amongst the selected providers.
Further details are set out in the call for application, which can be obtained as indicated in Section VI.3 of this contract notice.
II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)79410000 Business and management consultancy services, 79400000 Business and management consultancy and related services
II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): no
II.1.8)LotsThis contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.9)Information about variantsVariants will be accepted: no
II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
II.2.2)Information about optionsOptions: no
II.2.3)Information about renewalsThis contract is subject to renewal: yes
Number of possible renewals: Range: between 1 and 4
In the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated timeframe for subsequent contracts:
in months: 24 (from the award of the contract)
II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completionDuration in months: 24 (from the award of the contract)
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
No deposit required.
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
Payment arrangements in line with the terms and conditions of the contract. Please see the details in the tender documentation to be requested from the contact point indicated in Sections I.1 and VI.3.
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
The establishment of a temporary grouping of companies is allowed under the conditions laid down in the application/tender documentation. Temporary groupings do not need to have a specific legal form but will be jointly and severally liable for all obligations under the contract. Please see the details in the application/tender documentation to be requested from the contact point indicated in Sections I.1 and VI.3.
III.1.4)Other particular conditionsThe performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: yes
Description of particular conditions: The ECB may exclude candidates that are in one of the situations described in Article 24(5) of Decision of the ECB of 3.7.2007 laying down the Rules on Procurement (ECB/2007/5) (e.g. insolvency; grave professional misconduct; misrepresentation). In particular, the ECB may exclude candidates who are subject to a conflict of interest with the ECB's interests such as financial, business, employment or other relationship.
Moreover, the ECB will exclude the candidate, and all its international network member firms and affiliates, that is currently the ECB's external auditor in accordance with Article 27.1 of the ESCB/ECB statute.
In addition, the ECB may exclude the candidate or tenderer, and all its international network member firms and affiliates, in case of a conflict of interest related to other audit-related activities for the ECB.
III.2)Conditions for participation
III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registersInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Please see the details in the application documentation, which can be obtained as indicated in Section VI.3 of this contract notice.
III.2.2)Economic and financial abilityInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Please see the details in the application documentation, which can be obtained as indicated in Section VI.3 of this contract notice.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Candidates shall have the economic, financial, technical, and professional capacity to perform the contract. The ECB reserves the right to exclude candidates if it becomes aware that they do not have the economic, financial, technical and professional capacity to perform the contract. In particular, with regard to the candidate's economic and financial status, the ECB may consult databases and credit scoring/rating agencies. Depending on the outcome hereof, the ECB may request additional information and/or clarification. In duly justified cases the ECB may hereafter request a financial guarantee or undertake other measures as the case may be.
III.2.3)Technical capacityInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
Please see the details in the application documentation, which can be obtained as indicated in Section VI.3 of this contract notice.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
Candidates must meet the following minimum requirements:
1) the candidate must have the capacity to provide teams of experts from 5 different office locations (i.e. 5 different countries of the euro area);
2) self-declaration on the requested scope coverage for the requested services by scope element as per Section 3.3.1 of Annex 1 of the application form (at least 3 scope elements are mandatory);
3) the candidate must be able to deploy personnel who will render the services in English as requested by the ECB;
4) the candidate must be able to deploy personnel for the provision of services at the ECB premises in Frankfurt-on-Main upon request.
III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts
III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1)Information about a particular professionExecution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no
III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the serviceLegal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: no
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedureAccelerated negotiated
IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participateObjective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: 1) the candidate's general capacity to deploy a client manager responsible for the ECB contract with evidence of more than 10 years relevant experience at senior management level accustomed to work with senior leaders of public sector organisations or central banks and financial institutions from the private sector, etc. displayed via reference projects in the past 3 years (2012, 2013, 2014). The client manager responsible is expected to work on the tender proposal in the second phase of the procedure and attend the bidders' presentation/negotiation (weighting of this criterion: 25 %);
2) the candidate's general capacity to deploy a core team of 3 persons composed of team leaders, experts, or team members with relevant and complementary experience against the contract scope with public sector organisations or central banks and financial institutions from the private sector, etc. in the past 3 years (2012, 2013, 2014). The proposed team is expected to work on the tender proposal (if relevant) in the second phase of the procedure and attend the bidders' presentation/negotiations (weighting of this criterion: 25 %); and
3) the candidate's general experience and expertise, assessed on the basis of 5 reference contracts that the company has performed during the past 5 years (2009 to 2014) (in the EU for EU-based public and/or private entities or the EU branch of an entity) showing proven experience in delivering services under the scope above, i.e. conducting organisational and managerial performance reviews followed then by the implementation of strategic plans for large international organisations, preferably central banks, and demonstrating use of best practices (weighting of this criterion: 50 %). Out of the 5 reference contracts:
— 3 reference contracts shall be with organisations from the public sector, preferably with EU institutions or central banks,
— 2 reference contracts shall be with public or private international organisations/companies, which cover at least 3 countries (with different languages) and address challenges of governance and decision-making, mastering of complexity and efficiency,
— 1 reference contract shall show an impact on ICT, and
— all reference contracts shall have a minimum duration of 3 months.
IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue
IV.2)Award criteria
IV.2.1)Award criteriaThe 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)Information about electronic auctionAn electronic auction will be used: no
IV.3)Administrative information
IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:
PRO-001232.
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contractno
IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive documentTime limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: 26.5.2015 - 18:00
Payable documents: no
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate26.5.2015 - 18:00
IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn upEnglish.
IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tenders
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrenceThis is a recurrent procurement: no
VI.2)Information about European Union fundsThe contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
VI.3)Additional information
The documentation for this procurement can be downloaded from an Internet platform. If you are interested in participating in the procurement procedure, please register via the Internet platform using the following Internet address, user name and password:
Internet address: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/secure/procurement/
User name: 001232/DG/SE/2015
Password: B8856C
After you have registered, an e-mail will be sent to you with a new user name and password. The Internet address will remain the same. Please use the new user name and password to download the application/tender documentation.
However, your mere registration and downloading the documentation does not constitute an application/tender. You must submit your application/tender in hard copy version to the ECB, on time, in the format requested and including the content as further instructed in the application/tender documentation.
Should you experience any problems in accessing the Internet platform for registration and/or downloading the application/tender documentation please do not hesitate to contact the ECB under the following e-mail address: procurement@ecb.europa.eu quoting the procurement number and problem experienced.
The ECB shall endeavour to answer all queries concerning access as quickly as possible but cannot guarantee a minimum response time. The ECB shall not be bound to reply to queries received less than 7 calendar days before the time limit for the submission of applications/tenders.
The tender procedure shall be open on equal terms to all natural or legal persons resident or located in the European Union and to all natural and legal persons resident or located in a country which has ratified the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Government Procurement or has concluded with the European Union a bilateral agreement on procurement under the conditions laid down in the said agreements.
The tender procedure is conducted in accordance with Decision of the ECB of 3.7.2007 laying down the Rules on Procurement (ECB/2007/5) (as amended), available on the ECB website at http://www.ecb.europa.eu (please look for the link 'for suppliers').
During the tender procedure tenderers shall not contact any other ECB staff members or organisations/persons working for the ECB with regard to this tender procedure other than the person indicated in Section I.1). Tenderers shall also not contact potential competitors unless they intend to form a temporary grouping with them or to involve them as subcontractors. Any violation of this communication rule may lead to the exclusion of the tenderer in question.
VI.4)Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal proceduresOfficial name: Procurement Review Body of the European Central Bank, c/o Legal Advice Team
Postal address: Sonnemannstraße 22
Town: Frankfurt-on-Main
Postal code: 60314
Country: Germany
Telephone: +49 6913440
Fax: +49 6913446886
Internet address: http://www.ecb.europa.eu
Body responsible for mediation procedures
Official name: European Ombudsman
Postal address: 1 avenue du Président Robert Schuman, CS 30403
Town: Strasbourg Cedex
Postal code: 67001
Country: France
VI.4.2)Lodging of appealsPrecise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: 15 days from the receipt of the information specified in Article 28(3) of Decision of the ECB of 3.7.2007 laying down the Rules on Procurement (ECB/2007/5) or, if no information is requested, 15 days from the receipt of the notification to unsuccessful tenderers. Further requirements are outlined in Article 33 of this Decision. A complaint to the European Ombudsman does not affect the deadline for lodging appeals.
VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtainedOfficial name: Central Procurement Office
Postal address: Sonnemannstraße 22
Town: Frankfurt-on-Main
Postal code: 60314
Country: Germany
Telephone: +49 6913440
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:13.5.2015