Framework Agreement for Consulting Services in Fragile Contexts

Kurze Beschreibung

The ‘Framework Agreement for Consulting Services in Fragile Contexts’ (FA) shall serve to mobilise expertise more easily and speed up the preparation of required expert input for project identification and preparation and improve the quality of consulting services through longer-term engagement of skillful service providers on the basis of module ToR’s such as:
1) Pre-feasibility study;
2) Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD);
3) Analysis of the Project Executing Agency (PEA);
4) Peace and Conflict Analysis (PCA);
5) Analysis of Target Groups and Project-Affected People (ATG).
The FA will be awarded to several companies (‘Panel of Consultants’). The panel consultants shall be responsive to individual calls; offer their services on largely standardized terms; be in position to offer adequately qualified experts for the particular tasks; work in fragile states; implement the services swiftly, implying a short mobilization period and timely execution of services.

Beschreibung der Beschaffung

I. Framework agreement
KfW is gradually expanding its work in fragile contexts into one of its core areas of competence. Working in fragile contexts poses specific challenges for KfW: The lack of legitimate state structures or, if any, only very limited partner capacities for the steering and implementation of projects, volatile security contexts, lack of access or acute needs for funds are only some of the most important challenges. With the objective to further improve the quality and effectiveness of its involvement in fragile contexts, KfW intends to set up a panel of pre-qualified consultants (4-6) on the basis of a ‘Framework Agreement for Consulting Services in Fragile Contexts’. The framework agreement shall serve to mobilise expertise more easily and speed up the preparation of required expert input for project identification and preparation and improve the quality of consulting services through longer-term engagement of skilful service providers. The framework agreement is not yet constituting an assignment but regulates the general cooperation and the framework for the award of future individual contracts for assignments under this scheme.
II. Involved contracting authorities
The selected consultant (Panel Consultant) is a member of the panel of consultants that will be retained by KfW or the respective foreign Project Executing Agency (PEA), as the case may be, for such consulting services.
III. Individual assignments
The selection of the consultant for each individual assignment is based on a competition between the companies of the consultant pool. In some cases, contracts may also be awarded directly. Individual assignments under the framework agreement may contain one or any combination of the modules detailed below. Individual assignments will be contracted based on the Module-ToRs which may be adapted to each specific case. For each individual assignment a form with the specifications will be provided. These Module-ToR build the base for the future procurement of individual assignments, as they shall serve as their standard ToR. In general, they represent a challenging level of tasks and services reflecting the expected high quality of empirical work and reports. Furthermore, KfW reserves the right to update the Module-ToR over time. In such a case, KfW will have talks with each of the Panel Consultants on corresponding adjustments on the financial conditions, especially on the binding ceilings from this tender.
IV. Modular terms of reference
The 5 Module-ToR are:
1) Pre-feasibility study (Pre-FS);
2) Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD);
3) Analysis of the Project Executing Agency (PEA);
4) Peace and Conflict Analysis (PCA);
5) Analysis of Target Groups and Project-Affected People (ATG).
V. Panel of consultants
The framework agreement will be awarded to several companies (‘Panel of Consultants’), selected in the negotiated procedure with prior contest for participation for a duration of 4 years. The Panel Consultants shall
(a) be responsive to individual calls and the number of such calls with proper proposals in line with the framework agreement;
(b) offer their services on largely standardized terms, both by content and by commercial conditions;
(c) be in position to offer adequately qualified experts for the particular tasks; d) work in fragile states; and
(e) – if assigned with a contract – implement the services swiftly, implying a short mobilization period and timely execution of services. The consultants will have to cooperate on two levels with KfW:
1) As panel consultants they shall make their proper arrangements to be in a position to react properly — in line with the standards they have been selected as panel consultants — adequately and swift upon the future mini competitions or direct calls for individual services with responsive proposals. Naturally, there will be no obligation to submit such proposals;
2) As selected individual consultants they shall render the services based on the standards they have been selected as panel consultant and as the individual consultant.
VI. Sectoral and geographical scope
The sectoral fields are likely: water; energy; transport; health; education; peacebuilding, crisis prevention and promotion of social coherence. Geographically the individual assignments are to be carried out in 29 countries within the Middle East (8), as well as francophone (9) and anglophone (12) African countries. The individual countries are listed in the terms of reference.
Due to the dynamic situation and development, there may be changes in this list of countries during the duration of the contract. KfW reserves the right, to select from the panel in line with its framework as well in cases other countries will be added to this list of fragile states. Panel consultants and their future key experts shall have proper experience in working in such challenging environments and they should be willing to continue to do so. Furthermore, a network of (cooperation) partners (e.g. companies, local offices and/or local experts) in such countries is considered an advantage in this regard for the panel consultant. For some individual assignments the consultant may be required to conduct field visits. Consultants are expected to implement their own safety and security measures and decide casewise whether they will participate in such mini-competitions. These safety and security measures have to be adequate for the context of the country and/or area where the work shall be implemented.
VII. Quantity and budget
The stage 2 Tender Document ‘Price Sheet’ Tab ‘FP’ contains both the total quantity and the individual quantities of modules 1 – 5 over the whole term of the framework agreement.
The overall budget of the framework agreement, including taxes and all other expenses, is estimated to be in the range of EUR 10 million to EUR 12 million not including VAT.

Objektive Kriterien für die Auswahl der begrenzten Anzahl von Bewerbern

A. Applicant/bidder — legal and structural requirements
— Turnover in developing countries and emerging markets (10 points).
B. Applicant/bidder — experience
— turnover with similar services (10 points);
— experience in implementing similar projects (10 points);
— coverage of type of services — with all references (10 points);
— coverage of sectors — with all references (5 points);
— coverage of regions — with all references (10 points);
— coverage of languages — with all references (5 points).
C. Applicant/bidder — personnel capacity
— permanent professional staff (10 points);
— permanent professional staff — quality control/supervision (10 points);
— permanent professional staff — specialists for type of tasks (10 points);
— permanent professional staff — specialists for sectors (10 points).

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Bedingungen

Number and professional or trade register under which the candidate is enrolled in kept in his member state of establishment.
The candidate or at least ONE member of a consortium must be company at the place of business, properly registered in a public register, e.g. trade register.

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Auswahlkriterien

Self declarations concerning
— annual turnover in developing countries and emerging markets and turnover in the service type of the contract in EUR (without VAT) in the last three completed financial years;
— yearly overall turnover of a consortium`s leader (only applicable with consortia).

1) The candidate (be he a single candidate or consortium) must have an average of a:
— minimum yearly turnover in consulting services in developing countries and emerging markets of at least EUR 2 000 000 (without VAT); and
— minimum yearly turnover in the service type of the contract of at least EUR 300 000 (without VAT).
In the last 3 completed financial years.
2) Applicable with consortia: the leader of a consortium must have a minimum yearly overall turnover of at least EUR 1 000 000 in the last three completed financial years.

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Auswahlkriterien

Self declarations concerning
— suitable references from contracts performed in the last 5 years ‘Candidate’s references’);
— annual number of professionals and specialists (over the past 3 years).

Bedingungen für die Teilnahme (technische und berufliche Fähigkeiten)

1) References
The candidate (be he a single candidate or consortium) must submit at least 10 references that are each comparable to the tendered contract in terms of the nature of work, the scope and complexity of tasks and the environment in which the services were rendered.
(a) requirements concerning each reference project:
The reference project concerns a work comparable to the terms of reference's:
— Module 1: pre-feasibility study;
— Module 2: Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) (risk screening and initial analysis);
— Module 3: Analysis of the Project Executing Agency (PEA);
— Module 4: Peace and Conflict Analysis (PCA);
— Module 5: Analysis of Target Groups and Project-Affected People (ATG).
The reference project has an individual project turnover of at least EUR 15 000.
The reference project is recent, which means, that according to its period of execution, the reference was not completed before 31 January 2016.
(b) requirements concerning the tenderer`s references as a whole:
The tenderer's references must cover at least
— 3 of 5 modules mentioned above;
— 3 of the 6 sectors water, energy, transport, health, education, peacebuilding and crisis prevention;
— 2 of 3 of the following regions: ‘Middle East + Afghanistan and Pakistan’; ‘Africa – Francophone’; ‘Africa – Anglophone’;
— 2 languages: English and French.
(A tenderer`s project that covers several modules with separable works may produce several references.)
2) Professionals and specialists
The candidate (be he a single candidate or consortium) must have employed permanently:
— 20 professionals of all types, not including freelancers;
— 3 professionals for quality control and supervision of Services;
— 10 permanent professional specialists for the type of tasks, not including freelancers over the past 3 years (type of tasks are modules 1-5: Pre-feasibility study, ESDD Risk Screening and Analysis, PCA Analysis, PEA analysis and ATG analysis); and
— on average 10 professional specialists for the listed sectors, not including freelancers over the past 3 years (Sectors: water, energy, transport, health, education and peacebuilding and crisis prevention).

A request to participate has to be submitted exclusively electronically. A signature is not required. Candidates must carry out any electronic submission using the supplier portal of our e-tender platform https://ausschreibungen.kfw.de. The submission of a request to participate requires a registration and a login. After a successful registration and login please use the tab ‘Supplier Wizard’ to open your personal overview and to submit your request to participate. KfW will examine the eligibility of candidates on the basis of the self-declarations a candidate submits using the electronic forms of the Supplier Wizard and supplemental forms (References etc.). A candidate, a consortium and each other undertaking, a candidate relies on to demonstrate its eligibility, has to prove with a self declaration (tick boxes of the Supplier Wizard) that there are no reasons for an exclusion due to Sections 123 and 124 of GWB. The maximum number of partners in a consortium (Joint Venture) is 5.

Genaue Informationen über Fristen für Überprüfungsverfahren

§ 160 (3) (4) GWB: a petition for review is inadmissible if more than 15 calendar days have elapsed after receipt of the notification from the client to remedy the complaint.